A 1973 Death from a Sistrurus catenatus Bite Recounted

An article in TheDailyNews.com (New York) recounts the 1973 death of a man from the bite of an eastern massasauga.

HIDDEN HISTORY: Snake bite kills man in Bergen swamp, 1973 By Mark Graczyk

The Bergen Swamp Wildlife Area is a swamp and nature preserve located within the towns of Bergen and Byron.

It's a wonderful spot with a variety of different flora and fauna. Created about 400 million years ago, the swamp was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1964.

Among the many creatures living in the preserve are a small colony of Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes. These snakes are on the endangered species list. They live in remote areas of the swamp and rarely go near humans.

But on a summer's day in 1973, a rattlesnake bite brought tragedy to this picturesque location.
Gordon D. Ball, 34, of Byron-Bergen Townline Road entered the swamp on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 5. He told relatives he was going on a picture-taking expedition. He brought a camera, a .22 caliber revolver and a few other supplies.

Shortly after 2:30 p.m., Mr. Ball signed a book maintained at the home of Stephen Lane, the swamp caretaker. He began walking on a marked path leading east from the Lane home. It was the last time he was seen alive.

By Sunday night, Mr. Ball had not returned home and relatives contacted police. A massive search of the 30-square-mile swamp began.

By late Monday, a 17-year-old girl visiting from Fresno, Calif., came forward with information. The girl, Nancy Hoe, was staying with her aunt, uncle and cousin at their home on Warboys Road, adjacent to the swamp.

About 1:30 a.m. Monday, Nancy said she heard a man yell for help on two occasions, according to a report in The Daily News. She awakened her cousin and they both listened for a short time, heard nothing further and returned to bed.
Then she heard the cries again about five minutes later.

''Miss Hoe said she was not overly concerned at the cries since she was not aware that anyone was missing in the swamp area,'' The Daily News reported. ''She said she informed her aunt of the yells later Monday when she learned of the disappearance of Mr. Ball.''

The aunt notified police immediately and the search continued for several days with no success. By Friday, few held out much hope that Mr. Ball would be found alive. The search party had grown to include state troopers, conservation officials, area volunteers and a busload of the missing man's fellow workers from his employer in Rochester. Bloodhounds were also used.

Searchers were hampered by the swamp's dense mid-summer vegetation. One police observer called it the most difficult search conditions he had ever seen.

Finally, about 3:10 p.m. Friday, an Air National Guard helicopter spotted the body in a small clearing surrounded by 6- to 7-foot high grass near Warboys Road, on the swamp's northern perimeter.

And not far from the area where the girl from Fresno had heard cries of a man early Monday morning.

Searchers later recounted that they had passed near the spot on at least one other occasion, but couldn't see the body because of the dense vegetation.

Mr. Ball's body was taken to H.E. Turner & Son Mortuary to determine an exact cause of death. Pathologist C.V. Okay later listed the ''presumptive cause'' of death as snake venom poisoning, apparently from a rattlesnake.

The autopsy report said death occurred sometime in the early morning hours of Monday, The Daily News reported. This seemed to corroborate Nancy Hoe's story that she heard a man crying for help about 1:30 a.m. Monday.

Investigators also determined that Mr. Ball had fired his .22 caliber gun four times in hopes that someone would hear him. Several people said they heard gunshots but it wasn't enough to find Mr. Ball in time.

As far as I can tell, this was the only time — at least in recent history — that someone had died of a rattlesnake bite in Genesee County.

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