Missouri man dies from snake bites in James River

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

Nixa is about 12 miles south of Springfield, Missouri.

This story was originally published May 27, 2015 at 6:31 AM with the headline "Missouri man dies from snake bites in James River."