Overview

• Deputies found a 60-year-old Missouri man dead several yards from his campsite with injuries consistent with a large carnivore after a welfare check at Sam’s Throne in the Ozark National Forest.
• The campsite showed evidence of a struggle with drag marks into the woods, and biologists reported paw prints at the scene, estimating the body was moved about 180 feet.
• Investigators say the victim had sent his family a photo earlier in the week of what was described as a young male bear near his camp.
• The Newton County Sheriff’s Office and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are searching for the animal using traps and game cameras, and the U.S. Forest Service has temporarily closed the recreation area.
• Officials have not released the man’s name and note this is the second suspected fatal bear encounter in about a month in Arkansas, emphasizing such incidents are rare and urging the public not to confront bears.