Missouri man dies in suspected Arkansas bear mauling at Sams Throne

A 60-year-old Missouri man was found dead Thursday several yards from his campsite at Sams Throne in the Ozark National Forest near Mt. Judea, Arkansas, and investigators say the death has been officially ruled an animal mauling while they continue testing to confirm the species involved. Newton County Sheriff Glenn Wheeler said evidence at the scene and photos the man sent his family two days earlier point to a black bear, but DNA and autopsy results are still pending.

Deputies went to the campground after the man’s son reported he had not heard from his father for a couple of days. Officers found the camper’s truck and tent abandoned, the site disturbed, signs of a struggle and drag marks leading from the campsite into the woods. The victim’s body had extensive wounds consistent with those expected from a large carnivore, officials said.

Sheriff Wheeler cautioned that “until the Arkansas Crime Lab completes the autopsy, we can’t one hundred percent say it was a bear,” while also saying investigators are confident a bear had been in the camp and that the injuries are consistent with a bear attack. He said the state medical examiner has ruled the cause of death as animal mauling...