NEWTON COUNTY, Ark. — A bear suspected of killing a Springfield man in Newton County, Arkansas, has been confirmed by DNA to not match the bear responsible for his death.

According to an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) press release, the Veterinary Forensic Science Laboratory at the University of Florida determined that DNA collected from the incident found the black bear killed was not responsible for the death of 60-year-old Max Thomas of Springfield.

Thomas was first found on Thursday, Oct. 2, in Sam's Throne Campground of the Ozark National Forest by a Newton County sheriff's deputy after a welfare check requested by Thomas' family.

A bear was later killed on Saturday, Oct. 4, due to its size, physical characteristics and photographic evidence that showed it to potentially

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