Dad attacked by Bear in front of his son has died, the family says

A 72-year-old Arkansas-Man has died after injured in a black bear attack Earlier this month, according to state officials and his family.

A spokesman for Arkansas Game and Fish Commission told People that Vernon Patton in Ozark, Ark. KNW / KFTA.

Before his death, he had been moved to Hospice Care in Springdale.

The attack happened while Patton spread gravel on a road. When his son arrived to control him, he found that his father was unloaded, officials said in a first statement shared with people. The agency said that the young male bear weighed about 70 kg.

Spokesman told USA today The Patton experienced “difficult cuts and puncture in the head and arms.”

In the days after the attack his family said they didn’t think he was going to survive.

“Our beloved father, grandfather, husband and hero, Vernon Patton, was seriously injured in a bear attack while doing what he loved and worked on his country with his family,” Patton’s family said in a statement days after the attack, according to ABC Affiliate KHBS.

“Vernon is currently being cared for in ICU in Little Rock. While he remains in stable condition, his injuries are extensive and in the end not survivors,” the family continued.

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AGFC -The man described the rare event to USA todayNotes “There have been no documented bear attacks on people in Arkansas in at least 25 years.”

According to North American Bear CenterBlack Bears kills less than one person per year on average in North America.