A bear is believed to have attacked and killed a 60-year-old Missouri man who was camping in the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas in a rare fatal attack, according to local officials.
The man's children called police in Newton County after they had not heard from their father during his trip to Sam's Throne campground for a couple of days, Sheriff Glenn Wheeler said in a statement.
Police found the man's body several yards beyond the campsite, with injuries indicative of a large carnivore attack, the sheriff's office reported.
The bear suspected to have attacked the man has since been caught and killed.
Officials have not released the name of the 60-year-old victim.
Sheriff Wheeler mentioned that a bear believed to be responsible for the attack was killed after being captured on camera in the campground earlier that day.
Local hunters assisted law enforcement and used hounds to track the bear, which they subsequently chased up a tree.
The bear's remains will be necropsied, and DNA tests will be conducted to confirm its involvement in the fatal incident.
To be 100% certain, we will have to wait on possible DNA matches, but all indications suggest that this is the bear responsible for the fatal attack, Sheriff Wheeler noted.
Arkansas is home to over 5,000 black bears, the only species of bear in the state, with bear attacks being a rare occurrence, particularly fatal ones.
From 1900 to 2009, just 63 people died due to black bear attacks in North America according to wildlife management studies.
The campground remains temporarily closed as a precaution, given the circumstances surrounding the attack.
