On August 23, 2017, at approximately 2:40 p.m., the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office was advised of a bee problem in the 200 block of N. Cherokee Trail in Mescal. The caller advised that a man had been stung by bees and was unresponsive.
Benson Police Department dispatched medical personnel who made contact with the man and transported him to the Benson hospital in critical condition.
Deputies arrived on scene and were advised that the bees had been in a camper on the northwest side of the property. The man and his wife had been hired to clean the yard and were doing so when this incident occurred.
Hospital staff advised that the man, 35 year old Donald Houlihan, had been stung one time at the temple area of his face and was being transported to Tucson for further treatment.
On Tuesday August 29, 2017 at approximately 4:00 pm, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Pima County Medical Examiner who advised that Mr. Houlihan had died at the Tucson Medical Center on August 24, 2017 at 3:00 pm. The medical staff advised that this death was the result of a severe allergic reaction from the bee sting