Officials Say Man Was Killed in Possible Mountain Lion Attack as Wildlife Experts Dispute Report

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A Texas medical examiner's office and wildlife officials are at odds over the recent death of a man who may have been killed by a mountain lion.

Christopher Allen Whiteley, 28, was found dead in a wooded area of rural Texas on Thursday, and preliminary findings from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner indicated that "he died from a wild animal attack, possibly a mountain lion," the Hood County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.

By Sunday, however, the sheriff's office had received a statement from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which said that experts had inspected the scene, and found no evidence of a "predatory attack by a mountain lion at the location where the victim was found."

"It appears we have two conflicting reports from two agencies that are experts in their field," the Hood County Sheriff's Office said in a statement posted to its Facebook page on Sunday.

The sheriff's office added that it will await the final autopsy report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, but will be going by the office's initial findings, which ruled out suicide and homicide as Whiteley's cause of death.

The sheriff's office also noted that it will continue its investigation and will "gather pictures and statements from locals that have seen and capture[d] on film images of mountain lions," according to the statement.

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Mountain Lion

Deputies from the sheriff's office began searching for Whiteley on Thursday after receiving a missing persons call around 3:30 p.m. Authorities were told that he was last seen the day before, according to a news release.

Officials later found Whiteley dead in a wooded area nearby, and his body was sent to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Per the Hood County Sheriff's Office, the initial finding was that "he died from a wild animal attack, possibly a mountain lion."

The sheriff's office then got in touch with a trapper from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "who specializes in tracking and removing mountain lions," before they urged residents in the area "to be mindful of their surroundings and keep young children and animals inside at night."

"The safety of Hood County Citizens are 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," Sheriff Roger Deeds said in a statement.

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The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department issued a statement of its own disputing the report just one day later, saying its initial investigation came with help from Texas Game Wardens, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists and subject matter experts.

The agency said a U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services trapper also evaluated the evidence, "and came to the same conclusion as our staff."

"Fatal mountain lion attacks on people are extremely rare. In the past 100 years, there are fewer than 30 confirmed deaths due to mountain lion attacks nationwide," the agency wrote. "Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has no records of a confirmed fatal attack on a person by a mountain lion in Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife also has no confirmed records of a mountain lion from Hood County."

Elsewhere, the agency noted that a mountain lion sighting in Dallas County was considered to be "unrelated to this event.”

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Upon sharing the agency's statement, the Hood County Sheriff's Office added a message of caution as well.

"Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds always airs on the side of caution when it comes to the safety and well-being of the citizens of Hood County and will continue to alert them of any safety issue that may affect them," it read.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's website, mountain lions "are native to Texas and classified as a nongame species."

The website also notes that individuals should not approach the animal if they come across one in the wild, and should back away slowly while facing the animal if an encounter occurs.