An elderly Texas couple were killed by bees this week after they apparently tried to remove the insects from a fireplace in a house on a remote ranch, the Valley Morning Star reported Wednesday.
William Steele, 90, died Monday in the house on a ranch outside Hebbronville, Texas, about 100 miles west of Corpus Christi. His wife, Myrtle Steele, 92, died Tuesday after she was flown to a Corpus Christi hospital, the couple's daughter-in-law, Judy Steele, told the newspaper.
Judy Steele told the paper that the bees swarmed when her father-in-law sprayed a hive the insects had built in the small home's fireplace.
Her husband, Richard Steele, was with his parents when the attack occurred, Judy Steele, told the Morning Star. He was also stung but was able to drive several miles to the nearest phone to call emergency services, she said. There is no cell phone service in the remote area, she said.
Jim Hogg County sheriff's deputies responded and told the paper they were able to get Myrtle Steele out of the house.
“We were getting stung in the process, but we were able to place a blanket over her and take her to an awaiting ambulance – we did what we could,” the paper quoted Deputy Reyes Espinoza as saying. William Steele died inside, Espinoza said.
Judy Steele said her mother-in-law was stung more than 300 times.
Espinoza told the paper the species of bee involved in the attack had not been identified and the hive had yet to be removed from the house.
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My sincere sympathy to the family who lost their loved ones.
poor family ..To live that long and be killed by Beez.. How can we not know in this day an age what kind of Bees they are? Actually the way things are going I'm not suprised..lol
Doesn't matter what kind of bees they are. When you attack a bee hive they all act the same way. That doesn't require any special knowledge, it's common sense.
Great name! Mine too.
reply doesn't work...my comment was ment for Bender above.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, killer bees swarms What next?
This is quite sad. Bee and yellowjacket hives are best removed by professionals. Whether they were Africanized or not, they were taking a defensive stand. We all need to remember that bees are our friends. Without them, the world would be a very hungry place.
A bee is love
Why can't we all BEE nice ?
Deeply saddened to hear this tragic news. May they RIP.
Its high time the Bees fight back
Bees, Hornets, Wasps are becoming More AGGRESSIVE lately.. Got stung by 4-5 Hornets last May.. don't you know every bee that passed by me or I can in contact for the next 3 months approached me with the intent to sting me once I had been stung once taht season.. My Doctor says some type of pheromone is given off & all bees are predisposed to sting you..as you have been 'marked' to be stung again.. Those deputies and everyone that got stung around them will have the same curse I did for the next 3-4 months...
rofl TakeAnotherLook rofl – you pay that doctor?
African, or European?
European bees are not migratory.....and therefore...
A WITCH!
They can wash it off with tomato juice
My condolences to the family.
A couple of years ago, a part of a hive set off with a new queen and suddenly decided the cooler weather necessitated stopping on the side of my house, protecting the new queen from the dropping temperatures and making quite a large area of honey bees.
I called a local pest control company. The expert said they would leave as soon as the weather warmed up the next day, and he was right. If they had stayed, I was prepared to have a bee keeper collect them, since we have been having a decline in honey bees in Texas over the past few years. No sense in destroying them–just move them away.
It was quite a sight, seeing all of those bees on my daughter's bedroom window. They left the next day.
Texas the BARREN waste land that a Shuttle was supposed to go sit and rot at....
"but was able to drive several miles to the nearest phone to call emergency services, she said. There is no cell phone service in the remote area, she said."
Texas is bigger than most countries idiot....
The shuttle would have been in a highly populated area, not the country. This story however is about an elderly couple who lost their lives. This has nothing to do with anything else, so please stop being a moron.
Texas is so large that it can have it all-urban, coastal, mountain, and yes, desert and scrub. There are some pretty large ranches that have their own zip codes.
I'm sure there are some areas that don't have cell phone towers. It would be pretty hard to cover the whole state.
Bees 2; humans 0
You read stories and with most, you can grumble about it in some way. This is one of those that leaves you empty for words.
RIP...
I would have seriously sought professional (exterminator) advice if not outright help on removing bees in ANY part of the country let alone the southwest part. Son-in-law should have known better. Don't know if the guy who died was a stubborn old coot but sure sounds like it.
number one thing an exterminator will tell you is DO NOT spray the hive like this. You'll only make them mad.