Overview

• Vernon Patton, 72, suffered severe cuts and puncture wounds to his head and arms and remains hospitalized in stable condition at UAMS in Little Rock.
• The attack occurred Wednesday near Mulberry Mountain along State Highway 23 while Patton was working on a gravel road with a tractor.
• Patton’s son arrived during the mauling, threw rocks to intervene, and reported the bear charged once before running off.
• Arkansas Game & Fish wardens located a roughly 70-pound yearling male black bear nearby, shot it, and conducted a necropsy.
• Samples were sent for DNA analysis and rabies and distemper testing, with results expected within 48–72 hours as wardens investigate whether the attack was provoked.