OK so your saying you hit the first one, how long did you let it go, and then look for it??
3 inches can still kill a deer, or maybe allow you to sneak in and get a shot at it
and I can honestly tell you that it sucks and I have been in your shoe's , well all but the bow coming apart, but I did throw my bow out of the tree LOL, no kidding it went a good 30 yrds doing power cart wheels!
I missed a nice chip shot on a buck two evenings in a row once
and on one great and bad hunt in Ohio,(great on bucks seen and bad on buckls lost)
I hit a great buck on day one, shot looked good, but wasn't sure, so decided to let it go over nite and over the hite it rained then snowed then rained then snowed then rained, come morning , there was just zero sign, hired a tracking dog, and we just never found it , looked for 3 days too, Hate loosing a deer!
SO, I gave up, and went back to hunting and hit a second buck, on second sit, same tree almost same exact spot too,
he dropped at the shot making it way high hit and a little back
waited again, till next day again and just came right back with the dog, didn't want to chance a second lost deer, we had good blood for a little then nothing, like it just shut off!
I never recovered second deer then too, even with a dog!, so in 2 sits, I had two hits and zero deer! it can happen and sucks !!
I did get the one back found a few weeks later by a friend in a dam sink hole we must have walked past a dozen times while looking for it and just never seen it!

things happen, if you hunt enough, both good and bad! hang in there!