It has been estimated that 7,000–8,000 people per year receive venomous snake bites in the United States, and about five of those people die.[2] Though most fatal bites are attributed to rattlesnakes, the copperhead accounts for more snakebite incidents than any other venomous North American species. Rattlesnake bites, by comparison, are approximately four times as likely to result in a death or major effects as a copperhead bite.[3]
Venomous snakes are distributed unevenly throughout the United States — the vast majority of snake bites occur in warm weather states. States like Florida and Texas have a wide variety and large population of venomous snakes. Bites from venomous snakes are extremely rare in the states near the Canada–US border. Maine, for example, theoretically has only one species (timber rattlesnake); it is rarely seen, and then only in the southern part of the state, and the species is likely extirpated in Maine, with the last sighting in 1901.[4]
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim< | -- Name, age, gender --> | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| Priscilla Meridith, 62, female | | Georgia, Waverly — Meridith was bitten by a rattlesnake while in a friend's garden on May 17 when she went to sit down. She was in a medically induced coma for several weeks until her death on June 12. Meridith was not able to receive antivenom due to her allergies, which doctors said would have put her life at risk. |
| Oliver "Chum" Baker, 52, male | | Alabama, Winston County — Baker was at his home near Lewis Smith Lake when he was bitten by a copperhead snake and lost consciousness within 2 minutes. CPR was performed and he was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. Baker was later airlifted to Huntsville Hospital, where he died on May 27.[8] [9] |
| Lawrence Walters, 70, male | Rattlesnake | South Dakota, Lawrence County, Spearfish — Walters was playing golf at the Elkhorn Ridge Golf Course in Spearfish. He was looking for a ball in tall grass when he was bitten on the ankle. He was rushed back to the clubhouse in a cart where another employee performed CPR until an ambulance arrived, but was pronounced dead at Spearfish hospital.[10] |
| April 29, 2018 | Barry Lester, 57, male | Rattlesnake | Oklahoma, Osage County — Lester was driving down a road when he spotted the rattlesnake. He tried to move it to safety but was bitten on both hands. Lester collapsed shortly thereafter and was pronounced dead.[11] |
| October 7, 2017 | Daniel Hohs, 31, male | Rattlesnake | Colorado — Hohs was bitten on the ankle while hiking near Golden. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead the following day.[12] |
| June 12, 2016 | Wayne Grooms, 71, male | Rattlesnake (likely timber rattlesnake) | South Carolina — Grooms was in the Santee National Wildlife Refuge when a rattlesnake bit his lower left leg.[13] He collapsed and died within 15 minutes. He may have had an undisclosed condition which contributed to the severity of his reaction to the bite.[14] |
| July 28, 2015 | John David Brock, 60, male | Unknown (likely timber rattlesnake) | Kentucky — Brock, a preacher from Stoney Fork,[15] was bitten in the left arm during a religious service at the Mossie Simpson Pentecostal Church in Jenson, Kentucky. He refused treatment and died in his brother's home.[16] |
| July 19, 2015 | Russell E. Davis, 39, male | | Pennsylvania — Davis was sitting by a fire at his family's camp in Elk County when he was bitten by a rattlesnake. He was taken to a hospital and from there airlifted to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. While in the helicopter, Davis suffered a cardiac arrest and was subsequently pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital. The cause of death was an anaphylactic reaction from the snake's venom. No autopsy was performed and the death was ruled accidental.[17] |
| July 14, 2015 | Grant Thompson, 18, male | | Texas — Thompson was found unresponsive in his car in a Lowe's store parking lot in Austin. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. A monocled cobra that he was known to own was missing and was later found dead nearby, having been run over by a car [18] An autopsy was performed and Thompson's death was ruled a suicide.[19] |
| May 23, 2015 | Gilbert De Leon, 37, male | | Missouri — De Leon was bitten on each leg while wading in the James River near Nixa. After the bite, he did not seek medical attention and died the next day. The county coroner stated the cause of death listed on the death certificate states "Undetermined" because De Leon also had a lethal level of the narcotic oxycodone in his system, along with alcohol and a non-lethal level of hydrocodone.[20] |
| May 20, 2015 | David Giles, 59, male | Rattlesnake (Suspected) | Georgia — Giles, of Watkinsville was bitten while he was alone in Arnoldsville. He normally carried a snakebite kit but did not have it with him this time. He drove to a nearby house to seek help, and collapsed.[21] |
| Timothy Levins, 52, male | | Missouri — While camping at Sam A. Baker State Park, Levins walked outside, saw a snake, and brought it to his son's attention. When he picked it up, the snake bit him. Levins walked back into the cabin, washed his hand at the kitchen sink and sat down on the couch. When he became sick, someone from a neighboring cabin came over to help and performed CPR. Levins was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.[22] |
| June 20, 2014 | Brayden Bullard, 4, male | Timber rattlesnake | Florida — Bitten while planting watermelons in his backyard in Bryceville.[23] He was rushed to the hospital, but died 2 weeks later[24] |
| February 15, 2014 | Jamie Coots, 42, male | | Kentucky — Coots was bitten on the right hand during a service at his Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church in Middlesboro. After the bite, Coots dropped the snakes, but then picked them back up and continued the ceremony. Later, he was driven to his home. When paramedics arrived, his relatives refused medical treatment for him, saying it was inconsistent with his religion. He died at home. |
| September 20, 2013 | Daniel Frank Mitchell, 53, male | Rattlesnake (probably eastern diamondback, but possibly timber) | Alabama, Salem — A man died after a bite.[25] |
| July 2, 2013[26] | Ernest Burch, 80, male | Timber rattlesnake | Georgia — Burch found the snake in his garage in Armuchee, Georgia. Not wanting to kill it, he tried moving it out with a broom but lost his balance, fell on top of the snake, and was bitten on his left arm. He was rushed to the hospital and received eight vials of antivenom, but died 30 hours later.[27] |
| October 2, 2012 | Jack Redmond, 70, male | Unknown | Virginia — He was likely killed by one of the 24 venomous snakes he kept in his home in Chesterfield.[28] |
| July 2012 | Terry Brown, 50, male | | Missouri — Brown died of a heart attack one day after he was bitten by a copperhead snake while camping on the Current River, Missouri. The coroner's office listed the cause of death as a heart attack, with the snake bite as a contributing factor. Witnesses told investigators that Brown had seen a snake in one of the tents and was trying to remove it when the snake bit him on the right thumb.[29] |
| May 28, 2012 | Mark Randall Wolford, 44, male | | West Virgina — Wolford was bitten on the thigh while handling a timber rattlesnake as part of an outdoor religious service at Panther State Forest in McDowell County.[30] [31] Wolford did not initially seek medical treatment for his injury, but was taken to Bluefield Regional Medical Center when his condition began to deteriorate some eight hours later. Wolford was a pastor and often handled his pet snake during church services. Wolford's father, Mack Wolford, died in 1983 under similar circumstances.[32] |
| June 2011 | Aleta Stacy, 56, female | Black Mamba (Presumably) | New York — Found dead in her home in Putnam Co., NY. She illegally kept numerous venomous snakes in her home, one of which was a Black Mamba.[33] |
| April 5, 2011 | Mark Shaw, 47, male | Rattlesnake (probably western diamondback, but possibly timber) | Texas — Shaw was bitten by a rattlesnake he was trying to kill in Bastrop County.[34] |
| January 29, 2011 | Wade Westbrook, 26, male | | Tennessee — Westbrook was bitten just above the right elbow while handling a copperhead; he had been attempting to determine the snake's sex.[35] According to witnesses, he "tried to extract the venom with a tool after he was bitten, then he began coughing and vomiting before he collapsed."[36] Westbrook was pronounced dead on arrival at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. The cause of death was determined to be "anaphylactic shock as a result of the snake bite." Westbrook had been bitten previously by a Copperhead, which may have made him hypersensitive to snake venom. |
| October 13, 2010 | William Price, 67, male | | California — Price was bitten above the right ankle while wading across a stream near Cuyamaca Reservoir in Cuyamaca, California.[37] He had been taking part in a study of steelhead trout that was funded by a state Department of Fish and Game grant. According to witnesses, Price "stopped breathing within minutes" of being bitten. The bite marks on his foot were reportedly an inch and a half across. Price was airlifted to Palomar Medical Center, but later died. |
| Aug. 11, 2010 | Peyton Hood, 1, female | Western diamondback rattlesnake | Texas — Accidentally stepped on baby Western Diamondback while climbing down ladder at Possum Kingdom Lake. The snake struck her main artery.[38] She was rushed to the hospital, but died within a few hours.[39] |
| May 21, 2010 | Eddie Lee Dorminey, 82, male | Rattlesnake | Georgia, Enigma — Dorminey was changing a lawnmower belt when he was bitten several times on his wrist.[40] |
| May 9, 2010 | George Yancy, 35, male | Rattlesnake (probably western diamondback, but possibly timber) | Texas — Yancy was bitten while pulling up his pants in Smithville. | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| Richard Rupert, 68, male | Timber rattlesnake | Georgia — Rupert was hunting with his grandson in Oglethorpe County.[41] |
| ~ May 23, 2008 | Pamela Summers, 47, female | Timber rattlesnake (likely) | North Carolina — After being treated for a presumed Timber rattlesnake bite (due to species endemic to the area and bite characteristics) she received on her right leg while trimming weeds in her yard on or about Friday, May 23, 2008, Summers spent the night in a local ER ICU and returned home the following day with aftercare instructions. Summers was later discovered dead in her Marion home a few days later on Memorial Day, May 26, 2008, apparently due to complications from the bite. |
| January 29, 2008 | James David Bear, 37, male | Timber rattlesnake | Texas — Bitten on his right thumb at his mobile house. The canebrake rattlesnake that bit him was one of 179 snakes he kept and bred in various containers and 84 of the snakes were venomous species.[42] |
| October, 2007 | Jackie Ledwell, 63, female | | Arizona — Ledwell was bitten while taking a walk in Paulden.[43] |
| September 1, 2007 | Douglas John Hiler, 48, male | | Georgia — Hiler was bitten on his left hand while attempting to cut off the rattles from what he thought was a dead snake that he came across in the road while driving near Cleveland. Medical help was summoned immediately but took 45 minutes to arrive. He survived in intensive care for 42 days before succumbing to the effects. He was reportedly very allergic to bee stings and poison ivy.[44] |
| November 5, 2006 | Linda Long, 48, female | Rattlesnake | Kentucky — Long died after being bitten by a snake during a serpent-handling service at church in London.[45] |
| June 10, 2006 | Inocencio Hernandez-Hernandez, 29, male | | Florida — Hernandez-Hernandez became the first person to die in the United States from a fatal coral snake bite since 1967. He and Jesus Moreida, both of Bonita Springs, were bitten by a coral snake they tried to kill.[46] |
| October 2005 | Joe Guidry, 54, male | | Florida — Guidry, the Putnam County, fire marshal, went to help a neighbor who had spotted a rattlesnake while mowing grass. He shot at the snake; it went under a shed, and Guidry was bitten when he reached for it.[47] |
| September 12, 2005 | Marcus Wolf, 35, male | | Arizona — Wolf, a German tourist, was bitten while hiking near Willcox.[48] |
| July 2005 | Margaret Wilson White, 54, female | | Texas — White was bitten in Hays County, near Wimberley along Ranch to Market Road 12, about a quarter mile west of County Road 213.[49] [50] [51] |
| September 6, 2004 | Alexandria Hall, 44, female | Urutu pit viper (Bothrops alternatus) | Ohio — Bitten at her home and died two days later from bleeding in the brain.[52] [53] |
| June 20, 2004 | Trent Leprette, 31, male | | Alabama — Leprette was bitten on each hand while swimming in Saugahatchee Creek near Loachapoka, on June 16, 2004. He was admitted to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika; he developed complications and died after several days of treatment.[54] |
| April 12, 2004 | Dwayne Long, 45, male | | Virginia — Rev. Dwayne Long was bitten in a finger by a rattlesnake during a religious service at his church in Rose Hill, Lee County on April 11, 2004. He did not seek medical treatment and died the next day.[55] [56] |
| August 5, 2003 | Michael Peterman, 34, male | rhinoceros viper | Ohio — Peterman, a 14-year veteran of the Dayton, Ohio Fire Department, an "experienced snake and lizard collector and the 'go to' guy for the facility's envenomation issues", was bitten by a rhinoceros viper from his personal collection. He was taken to UC Medical Center / University Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died the following day due to an ostensible / reported inability to locate the requisite antivenin for the species, despite the likelihood of what should have been normal bite protocol preparation / supply storage for a collector of Peterman's reputation and stature as well as his affiliation with the Dayton, Ohio EMS / Fire Department and his close proximity to the Cincinnati Zoo, which housed a significant herpetological collection of its own. The rhino viper was removed and rehoused with the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade, KY, after Peterman's death. Peterman's relatively close proximity to both of those facilities along with established and experienced airlift antivenin sharing protocols and what should have been adequate rhino viper antivenin supplies should have served Peterman's immediate antivenin needs as well as outreach support to cover supplies while searching for addition antivenin should such prove necessary, yet for whatever undetermined and/or undisclosed reasons extant at the time, such supplies were unavailable. It is noteworthy to mention that the handler who removed the rhino viper from Peterman's collection and transferred it to the Slade, Kentucky collection was very experienced in handling venomous exotics and in fact this particular species itself, yet the snake even presented as considerably problematic to this experienced handler as well. |
| May 2003 | Ross Cooke, 50, male | | California — Cooke was killed in Lytle Creek, San Bernardino County, having stepped on a snake he mistook for a log.[57] |
| August 2002 | Pat Hughes, 45, male | | Arizona — Hughes was bitten on the finger by a small snake in his own garage. He was admitted to Sierra Vista Regional Health Center in Sierra Vista, and treated with antivenom, but died of "complications associated with the bite".[58] |
| August 31, 2001 | Audrey McIntosh, 18, female | | Georgia — McIntosh, of Folkston, was doing laundry inside her home on August 31, 2001, when she was bitten. According to Ray Morgan, director of emergency management services for Charlton County, McIntosh ran nearly a half mile to a neighbor's house to call authorities because she didn't have a telephone. The snake escaped, so EMS officials could not determine what type it was other than to establish that it was a crotalid (pit viper). McIntosh was flown to Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, where she later succumbed to the effects of the envenomation. |
| September 16, 2000 | Derek Lema, 2, male | | Florida — Lema was bitten in the thigh by a rattlesnake while helping his father, Victor Lema, in their Lakewood Ranch backyard.[59] |
| August 29, 2000 | Darrell Fee, 45, male | | Tennessee — Darrell Fee, a resident of Rose Hill, Virginia, was bitten in the chest by a timber rattlesnake during a religious service at a church near LaFollette. He did not seek medical treatment and did not want the authorities in the area to find out about the snakebite he received. He later died from the snakebite.[60] | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim< | -- Name, age, gender --> | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| (Reported) | Anita Finch, 33, female | Gaboon viper or hog-nosed sand viper | California — Finch was bitten by either of these snakes she kept as pets in her Van Nuys, home.[61] |
| October 3, 1998 | John Wayne "Punkin" Brown Jr., 34, male | | Alabama — Brown was bitten while handling rattlesnake during a religious service in Macedonia. He had reportedly survived 22 previous snake bites. Brown's wife, Melinda, had been killed by a snake during a religious service three years earlier, in August 1995. The Browns left five children orphaned.[62] |
| December 14, 1997 | Daril Ray Collins, 23, male | Rattlesnake (probably) | Kentucky — Collins was bitten during a religious service in the community of Arjay, Bell County.[63] [64] [65] |
| August 8, 1995 | Melinda Brown, 28, female | Rattlesnake | Kentucky — Brown was bitten while handling a snake during a religious service in Middlesboro, on August 6, 1995. She died two days later. Brown's husband, John Wayne "Punkin" Brown, was killed by snake during a religious service in 1998.[66] |
| March 8, 1995 | Kale Saylor, 77, male | | Kentucky — Saylor, a Pentecostal preacher, was bitten while handling a rattlesnake during a religious service in Bell County. Saylor figured prominently in David Kimbrough's 2002 book, Taking Up Serpents: Snake Handlers of Eastern Kentucky [67] |
| January 15, 1995 | Dewey Bruce Hale, 40, male | | Georgia — Hale was bitten on the hand while removing a rattlesnake from a box during a religious service in Enigma.[68] He refused medical treatment and died nine hours later at his home.[69] |
| May 29, 1992 | Brian Leslie West, 25, male | | Maryland — Mr. West, who resided in Emmitsburg, had a state permit to keep more than two dozen snakes. He was tending an Indian Cobra in his basement when the snake bit him on the foot. Five minutes later he went into cardiac arrest and never awoke. He was pronounced dead an hour later at Frederick Memorial Hospital.[70] [71] |
| December 2, 1991 | Ray Johnson, 52, male | | West Virginia — Johnson, a resident of Galax, Virginia, was bitten twice in his left wrist by a timber rattlesnake in the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo. He refused medical treatment and died thirteen hours later.[72] |
| July 13, 1991 | Jimmy Ray Williams Jr, 28, male | | Tennessee — Jimmy Ray Williams Jr, a resident of Spring Creek, North Carolina, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a religious service in the House of Prayer in Jesus Name in Morristown. His father died in 1973 after drinking strychnine during a religious service in the nearby Carson Springs Holiness Church in Jesus Name.[73] |
| April 9, 1990 | Arnold Loveless, 48, male | | Georgia — Arnold Lee Loveless died after being bitten in the jaw by a rattlesnake during a religious service at the Church of Jesus Christ in Cartersville.[74] | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim< | -- Name, age, gender --> | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| Curtis Davison, 22, male | | Florida — Davison was bitten on the top of his right hand as he transferred a six-foot rattlesnake from one cage to another at Silver Springs Nature Park near Ocala.[75] |
| March 25, 1987 | Glenn R. Alexander, 29, male | | Texas — Alexander was bitten during the 23rd Annual Brownwood Rattlesnake Roundup in Brownwood, on March 21, 1987, and died four days later.[76] |
| February 13, 1986 | Shirley McLeary, 38, female | | Kentucky — Shirley McLeary of Toledo, Ohio died seven hours after being bitten multiple times by an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake during a religious service for her uncle's funeral in Baxter. She did not seek medical treatment, as the other church members were praying to perform a "faith-healing attempt" on her.[77] |
| August 19, 1985 | Charles Herman Prince, 47, male | Unknown | Tennessee — Rev. Charles Prince of Canton, North Carolina was bitten multiple times by a snake during a religious service in the Apostolic Church of God near Greeneville. He also drank strychnine during that religious service.[78] He refused medical treatment and died 36 hours later.[79] [80] |
| July 1984 | Richard Barrett, 50, male | | Georgia — Richard Barrett was bit by rattlesnake while handling five venomous snakes during a religious service at Wade's Chapel in Cartersville. He refused medical treatment, was taken to the pastor's home nearby the church, died approximately seven hours later.[81] |
| August 28, 1983 | Mack Ray Wolford, 39, male | | West Virgina — Wolford was bitten on the arm by a timber rattlesnake during religious services at the Lord Jesus Temple in Mile Branch, near Iaeger. Wolford did not initially seek medical treatment.[82] An ambulance was summoned eight hours after Wolford had been bitten, but he died during transport to Stevens Clinic in Welch, West Virginia. Wolford's son, Mark Wolford, died in 2012 under similar circumstances. |
| August 1982 | John Holbrook, 38, male | | West Virgina — Reverend Holbrook was bitten while handling a rattlesnake during religious services in Oceana.[83] Holbrook reportedly refused medical assistance because his religion did not permit it. | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim< | -- Name, age, gender --> | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| Gregory Lee Hall, 3, male | | Alabama — Bitten on the right hand by a copperhead he picked while playing near his home in Jacksonville, on May 31, 1976.[84] |
| May 1976 | Curtis Mounts, 62, male | | West Virginia — Mounts was bitten twice in the arm by a cottonmouth and drank strychnine during a religious service in Mingo County.[85] [86] [87] |
| April 2, 1974 | Richard Lee Williams, 33, male | | West Virginia — Rev. Williams, of Columbus, Ohio, was bitten while handling a snake during a religious service in Switzer, on April 4, 1974.[88] |
| October 28, 1973 | Shirley Wagers, 72, male | Rattlesnake | Kentucky — Wagers was bitten by a rattlesnake during a religious service in the Pentecostal Holiness Church near London. He died from the bite nearly eight hours later at his home.[89] |
| August 5, 1973 | Gordon D. Ball, 34, male | | New York — Ball was presumably bitten by a snake, possibly a massasauga, while traveling alone through Bergen-Byron Swamp on a "picture-taking expedition".[90] A five-day police search recovered Ball's body from a small clearing "near Warboys Road, on the swamp's northern perimeter." An autopsy report listed snakebite as the presumptive cause of death.[91] |
| September 24, 1972 | Beulah Bucklen, 59, female | | West Virginia — Bucklen, of Charleston, West Virginia, was bitten while handling a snake during a religious service in Fraziers Bottom, on September 16, 1972. She died eight days later.[92] |
| September 13, 1972 | Susan Mary Gaboury, 34, female | Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Probably) | Florida — While driving near St. Augustine, Gaboury had stopped to relieve herself in the bushes beside the road. Thinking she had been pricked by a spiny plant, possibly the Spanish bayonet, she went to the emergency room, where she was treated for an allergic reaction and released. She returned home and was found dead the next morning. A snake expert determined from the size of the bite that Gaboury had likely been bitten by a diamondback rattler.[93] |
| December 29, 1971 | Bryan L. Bristow, 28, male | | Louisiana — Bristow had been collecting snakes in a bag when he was bitten on the hand by a cottonmouth moccasin in Garyville, on December 29, 1971.[94] | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| James Saylor, 24, male | | Kentucky — Bitten while handling a rattlesnake during a religious service in Covington, on February 19, 1967.[95] |
| July 10, 1966 | Wesley Howard Dickinson, 45, male | | California — An experienced herpetologist, Dickinson was bitten while force-feeding an 8-foot Indian king cobra in Santa Ana, on July 10, 1966. Dickinson had previously survived bites from other cobras, rattlesnakes, a cottonmouth and a Gila monster.[96] |
| August 31, 1965 | Frederick A. Shannon, 43, male | | Arizona — Bitten on a finger of his left hand by Mojave rattlesnake while collecting specimens near Klondyke, on August 29, 1965. Shannon was one of the foremost American herpetologists, a physician and an expert on snakebite, having coauthored a manual for the U.S. armed services. He died on August 31, 1965, after being airlifted to a hospital in Los Angeles.[97] |
| August 4, 1965 | Donald Bebis, 1, male | | Montana — 15-month-old Don Bebis was playing in the yard at his home in Cat Creek, when he was bitten on both legs on August 4, 1965.[98] |
| January 27, 1964 | Jerry de Bary, 37, male | | Utah — De Bary, the director of the Salt Lake City Zoo, was bitten on the left forearm by a South African puff adder when he opened the cage to tend to the animal.[99] |
| September 28, 1961 | Columbia Gay Hagerman, 22, female | Timber rattlesnake | West Virginia — Hagerman was bitten on the right thumb during her first snake handling at a church service in Jolo. She declined medical assistance and died at her parents' home. Her parents had previously been bitten several times by copperheads and rattlesnakes, recovering each time without seeking treatment. Her older brother, Dewey Chafin, has been bitten by various venomous snakes over 100 times throughout his life[100] and died in 2015 at age 82.[101] |
| March 15, 1961 | Jimmy Cornell, 14, male | | Florida — Bitten on the hand by diamondback rattler while reaching into a gopher hole in Fort Myers, on March 11, 1961. He died four days later.[102] |
| August 27, 1960 | Lloyd Hill, 41, male | | Georgia — Hill, a pastor, was fatally bitten by a rattlesnake during a religious service at the New River Holiness Church in northwestern Berrien County.[103] | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| David P. Henson, 74, male | | Alabama — Rev. Henson, described as an "elderly minister" in the Free Holiness Church, was bitten on the hand while handling a rattlesnake during a religious service in Robinwood. Relatives report that he had been handling snakes for "more than 30 years" and that he had survived several bites during that time.[104] |
| June 10, 1958 | Percy Miller Jr., 13, male | | Miller, a 13-year-old boy from Bluffton, South Carolina, was reportedly bitten by a rattlesnake around June 4, 1958, and then succumbed to the effects of the bite 6 days later on June 10 at a nearby Ridgeland, South Carolina hospital, according to SC Certificate of Death #58008751. |
| September 26, 1957 | Karl P. Schmidt, 67, male | | Illinois — Schmidt, a renowned herpetologist, died in Chicago while documenting the effects of a venomous bite of a snake he was trying to identify. The snake was later identified as a juvenile African boomslang.[105] |
| July 5, 1956 | Irene Raub, 18, female | | Raub, an 18-year-old woman from LaPlace, Louisiana, was bitten by an Indian Cobra on July 5, 1956, after handling the animal unsupervised at a LaPlace, Louisiana "Snake Farm" roadside attraction managed by her uncle. Raub succumbed to the effects of the bite several hours later in an iron lung at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. In an effort to save Raub, Bill Haast boarded a Navy jet in Miami and attempted to reach Raub in Louisiana in time for a blood transfusion but Raub died shortly after the jet took off. |
| August 29, 1955 | Anna Marie Yost, 46, female | | Tennessee — Bitten on the arm while handling a rattlesnake during a religious service in Savannah, on August 29, 1955. Her brother, Mansel Covington, a well-known snake handler, was bitten on both hands during the same service but survived. The event is recounted in writer Dennis Covington's 1995 book, Salvation on Sand Mountain.[106] |
| July 25, 1955 | George Went Hensley, 74, male | Unknown | Florida — Hensley died from a bite sustained while handling snakes during a religious service. |
| March 6, 1955 | Frieda Hoxter, 25, female | Cobra | Maryland — A German immigrant to the U.S., performing as "Princess Naja" at a night club in Baltimore, was bitten by one of two cobras she used in her performance. She died at St. Joseph's Hospital, where she had been hospitalized previously for earlier snakebites.[107] [108] |
| June 15, 1954 | Elouise Orr, 9, female | | South Carolina — 9-year-old Elouise Orr was bitten by a rattlesnake while at her home near Ridgeland, according to SC Death Certificate Record. The attending physician noted that they began treating Elouise at approximately 9 am, one hour after the bite occurred, and that she succumbed to the effects of the bite 10 hours later at around 7 pm. |
| April 5, 1954 | Bertha Smith, 72, female | | California — Smith was bitten in the right thumb during a religious service near Long Beach on April 4, 1954.[109] She died the next day.[110] |
| June 26, 1953 | Karen Perry, 1, female | | California — 15-month-old Perry was playing in the backyard of her home in Tujunga, when she was bitten on the hand by a "pencil thin", 18-inch-long rattlesnake.[111] |
| July 31, 1952 | Elbert L. Thornton Sr., 67, male | | South Carolina — Certificate of Death indicates individual was bit on July 30, 1952, in Beaufort, while working on a farm. Thornton died the next day at a Ridgeland, SC hospital. |
| August 18, 1951 | Nathaniel Akins, 25, male | | Florida — Bitten by a "giant rattlesnake" while cutting pulpwood alongside the Orlando Highway in Kissimmee, on Augusta 18, 1951.[112] |
| July 15, 1951 | Ruthie Craig, 50, female | | Bitten on the right forearm while handling a rattlesnake during a religious service in New Hope, Alabama, on July 15, 1951.[113] | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| Ben Padgett, 26, male | | Florida — Bitten below the left knee while cutting trees near Maxville, on September 2, 1949[114] |
| July 20, 1948 | Grace Olive Wiley, 64, female | | California — Wiley, an experienced herpetologist, who was known as the "Queen of the Cobras" for her work in the movie industry, was posing for a photograph with a juvenile cobra when she was bitten after a flashbulb startled the snake. Cypress.[115] |
| July 18, 1947 | Mrs. Floyd Butterbaugh, 22, Female | Timber rattlesnake | Ohio — Mrs. Butterbaugh was bitten by a timber rattler at her home on Piney Creek, 12 miles east of Chillicothe, Ohio near the Tar Hollow State Forest. She was picking beans in her garden when she was bitten. She died the next day. This is the last known fatality from a wild snake bite in the state of Ohio.[116] |
| September 4, 1945 | Anna Kirk, 26, Female | Unknown | Virginia — Anna Kirk, the husband of Rev. Harvey Kirk, died three days after she got bit in the wrist thrice on September 1, 1945, during a religious service in the Faith Holiness Church in Stone Creek. She was going into labor just before dying without a physician present and her baby also died. Afterward, Rev. Kirk was arrested, convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced to three months in prison. |
| September 1945 | Lewis Ford, 32, male | Rattlesnake | Tennessee — Ford was bitten by a rattlesnake during a religious service at the Dolly Pond Church with Signs Following near Chattanooga.[117] |
| 1945 | Harry Skelton, 18, male | Unknown | Tennessee — Skelton died from a snake bite during a religious service in Cleveland. |
| June 22, 1943 | Jerry Frier, 7, male | | Florida — Frier died from rattlesnake bite in Lafayette County.[118] |
| May 1, 1942 | Dorothy Louise Key, 8, female | | Florida — Bitten while walking in woods near her home in Bradenton.[119] |
| July 21, 1941 | Mahel Coffey, 10, female | | North Carolina — Bitten by a rattlesnake while picking berries near her home in Lenoir.[120] |
| June 23, 1941 | John Charles Goss, 2, male | | Pennsylvania — Bitten beneath the right knee while at a picnic near the city reservoir alongside the Willow Creek Highway in Bradford.[121] |
| April 28, 1940 | Reba Ann Cooper, 2, female | | Texas — The daughter of a rancher, Cooper was bitten by a rattlesnake on a ranch near Rocksprings, Texas.[122] | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| September 17, 1937 | Paul D. Emerson, 50, male | Rattle Snake | South Dakota — Dr. Emerson, a nationally known soil expert, was found dead on a trail eight miles west of Rapid City. Bitten on the left leg by a snake, Dr. Emerson had applied a tourniquet below the knee and made an incision over the wound with razor blade before he died.[123] |
| July 24, 1937 | Marshal Ray Weddle, 5, male | | Idaho — Bitten while playing near his home in Riggins.[124] |
| July 21, 1937 | B.T. Walley, 34, male | | Mississippi — Bitten while walking near Laurel.[125] |
| June 20, 1937 | Ace Hargrove, 64, male | Rattlesnake, Eastern Copperhead or Cottonmouth | South Carolina — The Columbia Record article states that Ace Hargrove, a farmer near Clio, was bitten by a rattlesnake while picking blackberries in a field near his home. The article, dated June 29, 1937, mentions that Hargrove initially thought he was stung by a wasp but then saw the snake as it slithered away. The certificate of death offers a slightly different account, stating that Hargrove was picking berries on the bank of a ditch near his home when he was bit on the right leg by a pilot snake. Both the Water Moccasin and the Eastern Copperhead have been referred to as pilot snakes historically, making a proper attribution difficult with current records.[126] |
| August 13, 1936 | Katie Adelle Rhode, 25, Female | | South Carolina — Rhode was bitten by a rattlesnake while walking down the steps of her home in St. George. She reportedly did not feel the strike initially, but after a family member noticed blood on her ankle, the rattlesnake was found coiled near the steps. She was taken to a hospital in Summerville, but died approximately 15 hours after sustaining the bite.[127] |
| May 4, 1936 | Alfred Weaver, 35, male | | Florida — Weaver, a 35-year-old itinerant was bitten on the hand by a rattlesnake during a "faith" demonstration at a revival service in Bartow, on May 3, 1936. He died the next day after refusing medical treatment.[128] |
| July 24, 1931 | Jess Correll, 28, male | | Indiana — A farmer, Correll was bitten on the hand, while in the hay loft of his barn near Washington.[129] | |
| - bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Date | Victim | Species | Location — Circumstances |
|---|
| Belinda Rourke, 6, female | | Colorado — Rourke died from a bite while playing near a pile of rocks near the family's ranch in the Purgatory River Valley of southern Colorado. The child survived for a day after the bite. |
| c. 1890 | Rebecca O. Andrews, approximately 28, female | | Kansas — Andrews died from a rattlesnake bite. |
| July 1882 | James Ananias Brannon, 2, male | | Texas — Brannon died from a rattlesnake bite received while lying on a blanket. |
| May 30, 1873 | George Sides, 6, male | | Texas — Sides died in Texas of a rattlesnake bite. |
| 1873 | Frederick Louis Niemann, male | | Kansas — Niemann died in Saline County, from a rattlesnake bite. |
| 1859 | William A. Perrin, male | | Virginia — Perrin was killed by a rattlesnake at Stribling Springs in Augusta County. |
| October 24, 1854 | Maggie Lee, female | Rattlesnake | Texas — She was the first child to die of a snakebite in Parker County.[137] |
| August 15, 1841 | H. M. Pettigrew, 31, male | | Texas — Pettigrew died from a rattlesnake bite while clearing land in Fannin County, Texas.[138] |
| 1796 | Richardson, infant son of Wm. & Ella | Massasauga or Timber rattlesnake (Likely) | New York — Richardson Cemetery (Town of Springport, NY) [139] |
| 1791 | Unknown person | Timber rattlesnake | Massachusetts — This was the last fatal snakebite in the state.[140] |
| August 28, 1790 | Child, 5 or 6 | | Massachusetts — A child was bitten by a rattlesnake, and died the next day, in Hardwick.[141] | |
