BLADEN JOURNAL (Elizabethtown, N Carolina) 18 October 05 Dublin man dies from snakebite (Jefferson Weaver)
A Dublin man died Tuesday after he was apparently bitten by a rattlesnake.
Chief Deputy Phillip Little of the Bladen County Sheriff's Department said the body of Lloyd James Hood, 44, was found Thursday near the Dublin Racetrack.
"He was bitten at least once by a snake," Little said.
Little said Hood, 44, and William Howell were hiking in the woods near the racetrack Tuesday when they found the snake.
Howell told deputies he was scared of snakes, and left when Hood began "playing" with the snake.
Howell went home, Little said, but returned later to look for his friend. When he still hadn't seen Hood by Thursday, Little said, Howell called 911.
Officers found the body near the racetrack around 4 p.m. Little said all indications were that Hood was bitten at least once by a large snake, possibly a canebrake rattler.
Bladen County Coroner Hubert Kinlaw examined the body at the scene. The body was sent to the state Medical Examiner's office in Chapel Hill for an autopsy, but Little said officials were "pretty sure" of the cause of death.
"There is no reason to suspect foul play," Little said.
Snakebites are most common in the late summer and early fall, Little said. With hunters heading into the woods in September and October-while snakes preparing for hibernation-human-snake encounters are fairly common.
"We've had a few bites through the years," he said, "but deaths by snakebite are not that common. Usually the snake will run away if you leave it alone."
Killing a poisonous snake that is not threatening a person is a crime in North Carolina.
Dublin man dies from snakebite