NEWS: Abandoned Venomous in AK

[trinitywolf]

Well...thank goodness that a child did not find this box and open it. It does sound like the owner was well within their rights, and the shipper took all percautions they could (in shipping legally), but somewhere between home and the airport something went haywire. If indeed the package was stolen, the person whom it was stolen from should have reported the theft to police.

[Drax]

IMO, if the person who purchased the snakes had the lack of sense to not take the animals straight home then he deserves not to get them back. glad to hear that the snakes are going to another zoo and not being cruely disposed of.

[Cobraman]

Update... We were contacted today by a detective in AK who said the customer's body was found near the airport. They are not saying if the rental car was located or not, but are investigating it as a homicide.

[eddie]

Aww jeez..
This just gets worse..
Hate to say it, but probably a confused crack head thinking it was a box of gold or money..

Keep us updated if possible, if you can..

[Cobraman]

Let me add that I thought that Mr. Garrick Wales was a very nice gentleman (from the little contact we had with him). I offer my condolences to his family, and pray that he is in peace with his maker.

[haroldo359]

what an odd turn of events. poor fellow and his family.

[trinitywolf]

Well that explains the lack of a report to police. How sad. I hope that they catch the perp and figure out why they did it (possible carjacking?).

[eddie]

From - Poisonous Snakes Have Some Link to Scotsman Found Dead, Police Say

Friday May 21, 2004 9:03am

Little Rock (AP) - Police in Little Rock are investigating a connection between a man found dead last week in Little Rock and venomous African snakes found the next day in a wooden box about half a mile away.

Police confirmed that man from Scotland and the snakes were connected, but they wouldn't say how the man died or whether he had a snake bite.

Little Rock Zoo director Michael Blakely says police interviewed zoo officials yesterday and told them they were investigating an unusual death that may be linked to the snakes.

On May 13th, police found the body of 48-year-old Garrick Wales, of Kilmacolm, Scotland, in a rented vehicle near Little Rock National Airport. The case was classified as an undetermined death, and Wales' body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory.

The next day, a Little Rock resident discovered the box of snakes at a city intersection near downtown and took the snakes to the zoo. They were identified as a 14-inch-long twig snake, a six-foot-long green mamba, a four-foot-long black mamba, and a five-foot-long forest cobra.

[budman]

ok how do you check to see that a guy from scotland in a rental car is legit?


48-year-old Garrick Wales, of Kilmacolm, Scotland, in a rented vehicle near Little Rock National Airport

[Drax]

wow....i feel like a total jerk posting what i did.

[bigred]

This is like an episode of the twilight zone!
Is there an autopsy being done? Any of the mambas or the melanoleuca could have killed him.

[budman]

The story just gets worse this is going to add to the downfall of the exotic trade in the US.
shipping snakes around the law has to stop the dealers just say he was legit.
and he did this three times owned no snakes even in his home country they are banned.
so he had no real provable experiance other than buying three times and he paid for it.
While the dealer counts his cash.
The family cries!

[eddie]

From Police Say Dead Scotsman Ordered Snakes on Internet

UPDATED - Tuesday May 25, 2004 5:52pm Reporter: Beth Hunt Posted By: Tony Tabor

Little Rock - We have more information about the unusual death of a Scottish man found almost two weeks ago in Little Rock.

Police say the 48-year old computer programmer traveled from Kilmacolm, Scotland on a business trip, but he picked up a box of venomous snakes at the Little Rock airport just hours before his death.

Police say this case is still a mystery, but more details are emerging about how these four venomous African snakes may be connected to the bizarre death of 48-year old Garrick Wales. "There was some marks on the body, but to say for sure those were snake bites, that's something we cannot do."

Wales ordered a cobra, two mambas and a twig snake from an Internet reptile dealer in Florida. They were found almost two weeks ago at 6th and Byrd in Little Rock about a half-mile from the location of his body.

An employee from the reptile company says Garrick Wales was a repeat customer. A snake collector who apparently did not tell his family about his hobby, a hobby, that seems to be growing more and more popular. "They’re readily available on the Internet and people are watching TV and buying these animals thinking they're pets."

Jim Harrison works for a group that provides snake venom for the production of anti-venom serum. He's been following the case in Arkansas and has an opinion on why Wales came all the way from Scotland to pick up snakes. "Some countries, it's really hard to get animals into, it's a lot easier to buy them in the United States and take them someplace else.

"Any of the snakes he had, could have caused death."

Exotic anti-venom serum is not readily available in Arkansas, so while the investigation continues, police are trying to calm the fears of local residents. "We do not believe there is anymore snakes of this nature here in Little Rock."

The four snakes found were shipped to a zoo in Texas. Police are awaiting test results to determine the exact cause of death in this case.

[BWSmith]

people are watching TV and buying these animals thinking they're pets

I won't even comment on that.

Thanks for keeping us up to speed Eddie.