Adam and I got back out around 4:30. Found the arrow, Nothing but pink fat and some white hair. definitely gut by the smell of it. Couldn't find blood in the area of the shot so we went to where she went into the thicket. this is a prime doe bedding area and it was criss crossed with trails. We decided to pick a trail each and if we didn't find blood on that one, try another. It was so thick in there that once we got more than 15 yards apart we couldn't see each other any more.
So here we were. In a primary bedding area, with other hunters on surrounding properties, trying to push through this brush without bumping all the deer out into the shooting lanes of the other guys. Adam also had a neat encounter with a good buck that was bedded in there. (that's his story to tell though). We realized that if we pushed to hard, we were gonna screw up a really good spot. So we called it.
It sucks, I've lost deer before and it is always a tough pill to swallow, but it is what it is. I will be back at it next week, possibly in that same spot to try and kill the buck Adam had at 10 yards tonight.