Arkansas hunter dies after deer he shot and thought was dead gets back up and attacks him
An Arkansas hunter has died after a buck that he shot and thought was dead, allegedly got back up and attacked him. According to officials, 66-year-old Thomas Alexander was killed during a hunt in Yellville near Fayetteville, on Tuesday, October 22, at about 6.30 pm.
The experienced hunter had lived in the Yellville, Arkansas, area for several years. He was using a muzzleloader when he shot the deer, Keith Stephens, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, told Fox News.
"He apparently went over to the buck and it got up and attacked him," Stephens said. Alexander called his wife and was taken to the nearby hospital at Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home at approximately 8 pm.
Hospital authorities said that he had puncture wounds when he was admitted although it isn't certain if he died because of the deer attack or because he had other medical conditions. An autopsy will possibly not be conducted, a hospital spokesperson said.
"I don't know how long he left it there, but he went up to check it to make sure it was dead. And evidently, it wasn't," Stephens said, talking to KY3.
He mentioned another similar incident in Ashley County. "There was somebody that did get stuck by a buck's antlers, and this was about four years ago. And it was pretty significant, but they did survive."
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has warned that hunters need to make sure that the deer is unresponsive for at least 30 minutes before they move towards it.
"When you get up there, be really careful around it because it may not be dead. But if you let them lay there for a while and they don't move, and he may have done that. We just don't know," he said.