Autopsy Finds Ginseng Hunter Died of Meth Overdose, Not Bear Attack

A man illegally hunting ginseng last year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park died as a result of methamphetamine overdose, not a bear attack.

30-year-old William Lee Hill, Jr., of Louisville, Tenn., and his companion Joshua Morgan split up shortly after they allegedly entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to illegally harvest ginseng in the area off Rich Mountain Road on September 7, 2018. According to authorities, Hill was never heard from again and was reported missing two days later.

Searchers found Hill’s body off-trail, about one half mile from Rich Mountain Road on September 11, 2018. At the time of discovery, searchers encountered a bear feeding on Hill’s body. The bear remained in the area and exhibited aggressive behavior toward rangers as they worked to recover the remains.

The male bear was trapped the following day, DNA taken and a GPS collar placed upon it before it was released. Without knowing the definitive cause of Hill’s death, park officials consulted with wildlife professionals and after further understanding the bear’s aggressive behavior, decided to euthanize the bear out of concern for public safety. Rich Mountain Road was closed to the public while authorities searched for the bear and despite the GPS collar, the bear managed to elude those efforts until September 16, 2018 when park personnel tracked it down and fatally shot it.

According to the autopsy report from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, “An autopsy revealed extensive postmortem animal predation, but no findings of antemortem/perimortem trauma (i.e. Mr. Hill was not attacked by a bear).” Hill’s cause of death was listed as accidental methamphetamine intoxication.

“The park is home to an estimated 1,500 bears,” the park said in a release. “Very few bears exhibit aggressive behavior towards humans. Wildlife biologists and park rangers work hard to prevent bears from becoming food-conditioned or habituated to high-use areas. Out of an abundance of caution for the park’s 11 million park visitors, park staff implement aversive-conditioning techniques and, on rare occasions, euthanize individual bears that pose a threat to visitor safety.”