Tragedy strikes in the small Texas town of Freer, as Eugene De Leon Sr. was bitten by one of his rattlesnakes and would later die.

Freer, Texas

Freer, Texas is about an hour and a half west of Corpus Christi and is home to just under 2,500 people, according to the 2020 census. Freer is known for two things:

1. The first oil well in Texas was drilled in Freer in 1860.
2. Freer is home to the annual Rattlesnake Round-up, also known as a rattlesnake rodeo.

Rattlesnakes are a part of life in that hot and dry area of Texas, and the annual Rattlesnake Round-up there is one way locals can buy, sell, and trade their abundant resource - rattlesnakes. The Rattlesnake Round-up is Freer's biggest festival and features live music, food (including, of course, snake meat) and lots and lots of rattlesnakes.

Eugene De Leon Sr.

Eugene De Leon Sr. had a passion for rattlesnakes and had over 20 years of experience handling them. De Leon Sr. was bitten by one of his snakes while performing in front of an audience on Saturday, and would unfortunately die from the bite later that day.

Freer Police Chief Hector Doria confirmed the news that De Leon was bitten in the shoulder at about 1pm and was flown to a Corpus Christi hospital by helicopter. He passed away around 9pm that night.


 


De Leon's sister, Monica Dimas, took to Facebook to announce the news,



Rattlesnake Bites

As you probably know, a rattlesnakes bite only takes between 6 and 48 hours to kill someone. If antivenom treatment is given within two hours of the bite, the probability of recovery is greater than 99%.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, about 7,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the U.S. Only one or two people a year die from snake bites in Texas, so the odds of being bitten and dying are low for most of us.

This $170M Texas Ranch With 65,000 Acres Is a Dog Lover’s Dream Home

Mesa Vista, the 65,000-acre Panhandle ranch, which belonged to oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens until his death three years ago, has been up for sale since 2017. The list of mind-blowing amenities is long, but for the price it's quite a deal!

The property includes its own golf course, a chapel with a memory garden, an airport with a private apartment for the pilot, and a 40-unit kennel, complete with a bronze dog sculpture in front of the building. Pickens, who was an avid hunter and dog lover, told Land Report in 2015Back when I couldn’t afford one bird dog, I had two. When I couldn’t afford two, I had three.”

Let's take a look around this incredible piece of property, which was recently reduced from $250 to $170 million, and see what kind of luxuries you and your furry friends could enjoy!

Let's Check Out This Ranch on The Market in Bryan, Texas

This would be the perfect ranch house...if I had the money!

More From KOOC-FM