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Just to follow up on this thread:

On the newest DVD version of this, there is a documentary in which John Boorman states that the issue was left deliberately ambiguous for the viewer. However, he says he did instruct Ronny Cox that he was not shot, but rather became disoriented or dizzy and fell into the water on his own. He also made it clear that Drew did not commit suicide, as he was a devout Catholic and would not have done so.

There are actually a number of questions that the film deliberately leaves unanswered. Was the Deputy's missing brother-in-law one of the two Mountain Men? Or was he someone else entirely, unconnected with the events of the film? There was, in fact, a third man with a rifle accompanying the two Griner brothers in their truck at the beginning of the trip. You would need a third man to deliver two cars and then drive back. He is seen only fleetingly in silhouette. Was he the missing brother-in-law, as the Sheriff seems to think? Or one of the Mountain Men? Or someone else? The man that John Voight kills is the Toothless Mountain Man, played by Cowboy Coward. However, he is made to look significantly different by removing his distinctive hat and putting in a denture.

While all of these questions may have theoretical answers, the characters will never know the truth and neither will viewers of the film, unless Boorman chooses to spill the beans, as he did with Drew's death. All this uncertainty adds greatly to the sense of undefined menace and paranoia in the film.