Missouri man dies after being bitten in both legs by snake

NIXA, Mo. — A 37-year-old southwest Missouri man is dead after being bitten on both legs by a venomous snake after he waded into the James River.

The Springfield News-Leader reported that Gilbert De Leon and his girlfriend were at the Delaware Access southwest of Nixa on Friday afternoon when he waded into the river and felt himself being bitten.

Christian County Coroner Brad Cole said De Leon ignored his girlfriend's pleas to go to a hospital and instead went to his Nixa home. The woman woke up Saturday morning and found him dead.

Cole said lab tests will take about eight weeks to get back, but he sees no signs the man died of anything other than snake bites.

Cole said it's the first possible snake bite death he has ever seen.

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