The cause of the death of a hero Queensland grandad who rushed to save a mate from a deadly brown snake remains a mystery.
Donald Morrison went into cardiac arrest on Saturday evening after he removed what witnesses believed was an eastern brown snake from a friend’s ankle during a school reunion in the small town of Koumala in Central Queensland.
It was reported Mr Morrison, 68, was killed by a snake bite, but his family revealed on Thursday his autopsy did not show any snake venom.
“We have received preliminary findings from the coroner’s office which confirm that there was no snake venom in Donny’s system,” the family said in a statement.
“This therefore rules out snakebite as a contributing factor or cause of death.
“It is believed that Donny may have had an underlying medical condition that he was unaware of.
“We offer our heartfelt thanks to all first responders and the many members of our Koumala community who provided assistance on the night.
“These past few days have been exceptionally distressing for the family and we kindly ask for privacy during this time to grieve our loss and bid farewell to Donny.”
Investigations continue into the cause of Mr Morrison’s death.
Mr Morrison’s friend, 65-year-old Lloyd Younger, was taken to Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition and released on Sunday.
Mr Morrison was at Koumala State School to celebrate the school’s centenary.
On Monday, Mr Morrison’s family paid tribute to him and thanked the attendees who tried to save his life.
“We all enjoyed ourselves, especially Donny who was really happy to have caught up with so many old friends,” his family said.
“We would like to thank everyone involved with the incident involving Donny, people pulled together in an attempt to resuscitate Don but unfortunately were not successful.
“We are sorry that the incident led to the event being shut down early.”