A man was camping in Sam’s Throne Campground in Newton County, Arkansas late last week when a bear mauled him to death. Although officials couldn’t at first confirm that a bear was at fault, they highly suspected it was due to the nature of the man’s injuries and evidence found at the scene. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has now confirmed that it was a bear attack that killed the man—60-year-old Max Thomas of Springfield, Missouri.
Local news reports that family members alerted authorities after they didn’t hear from Thomas for a couple of days. Before contact stopped, the victim had sent a photo of a black bear lurking near his campground in Ozark National Forest. Overnight, while Thomas was sleeping on his open-air cot, a bear attacked him.
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Using the photo Thomas sent to family members alongside trail-cam photos from the area set up after the attack, officials located the bear and killed it.
See an early news report after the bear attack that killed a man who was solo camping in Arkansas:
Header stock image by mscornelius/Getty Images
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