Missouri man’s death at Arkansas campground most likely bear attack. Bear image Joplin News First file.
NEWTON COUNTY, Ark. (KOAM) — Sheriff Glenn Wheeler said his office received a call on Thursday, October 2nd, 2025, of a welfare concern at Sam’s Throne Campgrounds near the town of Mt. Judea, Ark. which is about 100 miles SE of the KOAM area.
The caller stated his father was camped at the campground and had not checked in for a couple of days. He asked that a Deputy respond and check his father’s welfare.
When the Deputy arrived at the campground, he located the man’s truck and campsite. The campsite had been disturbed and there was evidence of a struggle and injury. There were also drag marks leading from the campground into the woods. The man was not in his camp.
Investigators quickly responded to the scene and began processing the scene and looking for the man. The camper, a 60-year-old man from Missouri was found several yards outside the campsite, deceased.
Meanwhile, Investigators had received information from the man’s family that he had sent pictures of a bear in his camp Tuesday morning. The body of the deceased had extensive injuries consistent with those expected from a large carnivore attack.
The U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, Jasper Police Department, 14th Judicial Drug Task Force and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission also responded to the scene as did the Newton County Coroner’s Office.
Sheriff Wheeler also contacted local hunters who have dogs they take out of state to hunt bears and, as of this press release, efforts are underway to locate the bear. Sheriff Wheeler urges people in the area to be vigilant. Based on the photos the man sent, the bear appeared to be a young male bear. Wheeler also said the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has been very supportive of efforts to find the bear.
Sheriff Wheeler said “until the Arkansas Crime Lab completes the autopsy, we can’t 100% say it was a bear, but everything strongly indicates it. We are attempting to find the bear and dispose of it so the Game and Fish Commission can test it for anything that may have led to the encounter. We know without a doubt that a bear was in camp with our victim and the injuries absolutely are consistent with a bear attack. This is a highly unusual case. We are very early in the investigation and search and will update as we can. If you are in the area, just be aware and use caution, especially with children. History tells us that once a bear becomes predatory, it often continues those behaviors.”
The name of the victim has not been released and once the autopsy is complete, officials should be able to determine if the bear was the actual cause of the death.
Sheriff Wheeler also said the U.S. Forest Service has temporarily closed Sam’s Throne Campground for the safety of the public, to better allow officials to continue looking for the culprit bear and also due to potential traps being set in the area for the bear. Follow the U.S. Forest Service for updates on the status of the campground.
If you are camping anywhere in the area, be sure to follow bear safety measures. Keep your food away from your sleeping area and secured, don’t feed or approach bears – even small ones – carry bear protection such as bear spray or a firearm.
