The date wasn't necessarily accurate. For some reason, according to the gravestone, my 2nd great grandfather was buried two days before he died. (Actually died 5th, buried 8th, stone says 10th).
If this happened in the winter time one might wonder if the ground was too frozen to dig, but in the middle of August?
I wonder if it took a while for him to be found, for example if he was at home alone and someone popped around to see why Bob hadn't been seen for a few days. Unfortunately that kind of thing would simply be a matter of speculation.