MCALLEN, Texas | 
 
 MCALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - An elderly South Texas couple died and their son was injured after a swarm of bees attacked them on their remote ranch, authorities said on Wednesday. 
 
 William Steele, 95, and his wife, Myrtle, 92, died and their son, Richard, 67, was injured after bees attacked them as they tried to clean a hunting cabin on their ranch near Hebbronville on Monday, an investigator with the Jim Hogg County Sheriff's Office said. 
 
 "It was a terrible thing," Investigator Reyes Espinoza told Reuters. "You don't prepare for something like that." 
 
 Richard Steele told investigators he and his parents were attacked after they moved a wood stove in the cabin and exposed a hive of bees, Espinoza said. 
 
 The son immediately drove about 15 miles to the nearest road, where he managed to call for help on a cell phone. 
 
 William Steele tried to escape the bees by running from the cabin, but he fell and succumbed to hundreds of bee stings, Espinoza said. 
 
 Myrtle Steele was airlifted to a Corpus Christi hospital, where she died on Tuesday. Her son was transported to a Laredo hospital and released, Espinoza said. 
 
 Espinoza said the bees swarmed deputies when they arrived at the scene on Monday. 
 
 "By the grace of God, we didn't get stung," he said. "You could literally scoop them off of us." 
 
 Espinoza said they were likely Africanized honey bees -- often called "killer bees" for their aggression -- which are common in south Texas. 
 
 The bees are hybrids from swarms originally introduced to Brazil from Africa, which absconded in the 1950s. They spread north through South and Central America, crossing into south Texas in 1990, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 
 
 The bees swarm more frequently than native bees, and are extremely defensive. The USDA advises untrained individuals against trying to remove swarms. If attacked, individuals should run away quickly and not stop to help others. 
 
 Fatal attacks are rare, although the USDA gave no figures. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Greg McCune) ||||| SANTA ROSA — An elderly couple died and their son was injured in an attack of bees at their ranch outside Hebbronville, Jim Hogg County deputies said. 
 
 William “W.T.” Steele, his wife Myrtle and their son Richard were cleaning the small house they own on ranchland near Jones Ranch, a hunting area in Jim Hogg County, their daughter-in-law Judy Steele said Tuesday. 
 
 The Steeles had gone to the ranch, which Judy Steele described as “way out in the middle of Jones Ranch,” for the day. She expected them to return Monday afternoon. 
 
 The elder Steele was spraying to kill bees that had built a hive in the fireplace, when the bees swarmed and attacked him, his wife and their son, she said. 
 
 She said her father-in-law must not have realized how large the beehive was. 
 
 W.T. Steele, 90, was pronounced dead at the scene. Myrtle Steele, 92, was airlifted to a Corpus Christi hospital, about 100 miles away, where she died Tuesday, Judy Steele said, adding her mother-in-law had been stung more than 300 times. 
 
 Richard Steele, 67, suffered many bee stings to his head and face, she said. He was taken to Laredo Memorial Hospital, about 80 miles from the ranch, and was released Tuesday, she said. 
 
 Judy Steele said there was no cell phone service from her in-laws’ ranch and her husband had to drive several miles to the nearest phone, where he called 9-1-1. Then he had to wait at the end of the ranch road so he could lead emergency workers to his injured parents. 
 
 Jim Hogg sheriff’s deputies said it took about 20 minutes to reach the Steeles, and the ranch house was about 15 miles from the road. 
 
 Reyes Espinoza and Diaz Morales of the Jim Hogg sheriff’s department responded to the scene to aid the Steele family. 
 
 Espinoza said that they arrived without any special uniform to protect them from bee stings. 
 
 He added that with the help of Richard Steele, they were able to locate Myrtle Steele alive inside the home. 
 
 “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,” he said. 
 
 Espinoza stated that he and Morales returned to the home and located W.T. Steele, who was already dead. 
 
 He said as of Tuesday evening, the species of bees had not been identified, and that the hive had not been removed from the home. 
 
 W.T. Steele was a farmer in Santa Rosa, growing cotton, grain and corn, Judy Steele said. When he retired about 30 years ago, and Richard took over the family farm, the Steeles bought the land in Jim Hogg County to raise a few head of cattle, and for hunting. 
 
 Both W.T. and Myrtle were healthy and active people, she said of her in-laws. 
 
 “My husband feels terrible,” Judy Steele said. “He feels that he didn’t do enough to help his parents.” 
 
 She added, “We thank the Good Lord that they died together.”
– An elderly couple was killed and their son injured when they messed with a swarm of bees at their Texas ranch. William Steele, 90, was spraying to kill bees that had built a hive in the fireplace of a small house he owned in a remote area of the ranch when they swarmed and attacked him, his wife, and his son, reports the Valley Morning Star. Steele tried to run from the cabin but collapsed and was stung hundreds of times. The couple's 67-year-old son was also stung but he managed to escape and get to the nearest phone to call authorities. Deputies without any protective equipment braved the swarm to rescue Myrtle Steele, 92. She had been stung some 300 times and died several days later in a nearby hospital. "It was a terrible thing," an investigator with the Jim Hogg County Sheriff's office tells Reuters. "You don't prepare for something like that. "