Missing man found dead in Hood County after mountain lion attacked him, officials say
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
A missing man in Hood County was found dead on Thursday after officials say a mountain lion attacked him.
Christopher Allen Whiteley, 28, was last seen in the early morning hours of Wednesday in the 1500 block of Howell Road in Lipan, the Hood County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Facebook. Deputies checked a nearby wooded area, the sheriff’s office said, and found Whiteley dead.
His body was sent to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, where an autopsy was performed, officials said. Preliminary findings indicate he was “attacked by a wild animal, possibly a mountain lion,” according to the release.
The sheriff’s office is working with Texas Game Wardens and a trapper with the United States Department of Agriculture to track down the mountain lion, officials said. Sheriff Roger Deeds urged Hood County residents in the release to be aware of this effort.
“The safety of Hood County citizens is my priority one, but please don’t interfere with the process of locating the animal and stay clear of the area being actively worked by officials,” he said.
On Sunday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said it does not believe Whiteley was killed by a mountain lion.
The TPWD said Texas Game Wardens, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists, and a United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services trapper investigated the scene and evidence and came to the same conclusion as the TPWD staff. TPWD has no record of a mountain lion attack in Texas or confirmed records of a mountain lion living in Hood County.
“Fatal mountain lion attacks on people are extremely rare,” the TPWD wrote in their investigative report. “In the past 100 years, there are fewer than 30 confirmed deaths due to mountain lion attacks nationwide.”
In response, the sheriff’s office said Sunday it stands behind the preliminary report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The sheriff’s office asked residents of Lipan “to be mindful of their surroundings” and keep children and animals inside at night.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 3:13 PM.
