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A 50-year old Ellsinore man bitten by a copperhead snake in southeast Missouri has died. But a spokesman for the Carter County coroner says the death of Terry Brown was caused by a heart attack. The snakebite is being listed as a contributing factor. Brown was camping with friends on the Current River when he was bitten. He died at a Poplar Bluff hospital after complaining of difficulty breathing.
Conservation department herpetologist Jeff Briggler says deaths by snakebite are rare in Missouri. Briggler says Missouri has not had death by a copperhead bite since 19-65. And that was the first recorded Missouri death by snake bite since 1933. He says dozens of people are bitten by snakes each year but make full recoveries
