Dana Dean, Aja J. Williams, & Leisa Zigman

KSDK-TV (St. Louis, Mo.)

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — A man died Tuesday evening as a result of a bite from a copperhead snake while camping in southeast Missouri.

Timothy Levins and his family had camped out at Sam A. Baker State Park, according to Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch.

Levins and his son walked outside, saw the snake and brought it to his son's attention. When he picked it up, the snake bit him.

The Southeast Missourian reported that Levins, 52, walked back into the cabin, washed his hand off at the kitchen sink and sat down on the couch.

"According to the 13-year-old daughter, within two to three minutes, he was shaking uncontrollably," Finch said, according to the Missourian.

When Levins became sick, someone from a neighboring cabin came over to help and applied CPR. Levins was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. Several news outlets report Levins died July 8 at about 7 p.m.

The coroner ruled Levins died due to anaphylactic shock from a snakebite.

In the history of the state of Missouri, three deaths have occurred from copperhead snake bites, including Levins.

Finch cautions that if you notice a copperhead snake, you shouldn't pick it up.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, snakebite ranks just above falling space debris as a threat to human life. The Missouri Poison Center recorded 596 venomous snakebites from 1993 through 1999, or about 85 per year. None were fatal. The last documented death from a copperhead bite in the state was in 1965.



