Two People Trampled To Death By ‘Large, Aggressive Camel’ At Texas Tourist Destination, New Details Emerge

Camel Kisses Camel Farm in Wichita Falls, Texas, was the site of a horrific scene Saturday morning. A “large, aggressive camel” trampled two people to death as one person entered to break ice on the camel’s water trough. The sheriff department has now offered new information on the case, providing a timeline of exactly how the deadly event unfolded.

According to Fox News, deputies from the Wichita Falls Sheriff’s Office arrived at the Camel Kisses Camel Farm Saturday afternoon to investigate a trampling. What they found was a “very aggressive camel with blood on his chest and on his mouth.” Inside the pen the deputies found two bodies, belonging to 53-year-old Mark Mere and 72-year-old Peggy McNair.

Peggy was the owner of the farm and frequently called upon Mere to help care for the animals. The Camel Kisses Camel Farm was somewhat of a tourist destination in the area, with school children frequenting the farm to see the camels. McNair was not a newbie to dealing with camels. In fact, she had raised camels for almost 20 years prior to this accident.

Naples News reports that Sheriff David Duke is now providing a timeline of the events that transpired, leading to the deaths of McNair and Mere. Duke says that the deputies believe that Mere went to the camel farm in the early morning hours to help McNair break some ice in the camels’ water trough. The pen housed the large male camel, along with two smaller female camels.

Witnesses report that, sometime between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., Mere arrived at McNair’s camel farm to offer assistance. It was not unusual for Mere to help the aging camel owner, and witnesses claim they say Mere’s car parked at his workshop at 3 a.m. and at 7 a.m. it was seen at the camel farm. Peggy McNair was supposed to have lunch with some family members later Saturday afternoon. When she didn’t show up, the relative drove to the farm to check on Peggy. When they arrived, they saw the two bodies laying inside of the camel pen.

When sheriff deputies arrived, the camel was still acting aggressively. Deputies had to distract the camel so that the bodies could be removed from the pen. When the camel did not calm down, a Texas game warden was called in to put down the animal.

It appeared that the bodies had been at the site for several hours, with Duke saying it appears Mere was killed first, followed by McNair.

“Duke said it appeared Mere had been dead for several hours and suffered severe trauma. McNair’s body was found near a gate and the sheriff thinks she saw Mere’s body and went in the corral to try to help him when the camel attacked her. He said it appeared McNair was struck once in the face and died instantly.”