Medical Examiner: Texas Man Found Dead Near Mountain Lion Spotting Was Victim Of An 'Animal Attack'
LIPAN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - There was a lot of debate in December 2020 as to whether or not a man found dead in Hood County was killed by a mountain lion. On Tuesday officials released the results of that victim's autopsy.
The body of Christopher Allen Whiteley was found in a wooded area of Lipan, about 65 miles west of Fort Worth, on December 3. The Hood County Sheriff's Office said the 28-year-old died from a wild animal attack -- possibly a mountain lion.
The sheriff's office received Whiteley's final autopsy from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office on January 25 and his cause of death was determined to have come from "injuries of neck, due to animal attack" and was an accident.
Sheriff's say they support the medical examiner's ruling since there were no signs of foul play in Whiteley's death.
On December 1, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed a mountain lion sighting in Dallas County, near Lake Ray Hubbard in Rowlett. Officials there said they believe it was the same animal legally killed by a deer hunter in Hunt County days after Whiteley was found.
In a statement the Hood County Sheriff's Office said —
"There is still a disagreement with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department whether Whiteley was killed by a mountain lion or not. The case is being closed by the Hood County Sheriff's Office as an animal attack."
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