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Robeson Woman May Have Died From Spider Bite

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Brown Recluse
ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. — A mother of three is dead in Robeson County and her family blames a rare spider.

Edith Caulder said her daugher, Tabitha Hunt, had a spider bite under her arm. Hunt went to the hospital and kept getting more sick. A few days later, she died.

"It's real hard, especially with the children asking about her," she said.

Caulder said one time, a brown recluse spider bit Hunt. Now, she believes the same species attacked again.

"[You] just don't think of death from a spider bite or I didn't," she said.

The medical examiner plans to do an autopsy. Hunt leaves behind three children.

There are two common types of poisonous spiders in North Carolina -- the brown recluse and the black widow. The brown recluse is identified by a violin shape on the back of its head. They are usually found indoors in shoes, clothes, boxes and around duct work in houses.

Next, the black widow is identified with its red hourglass design on its body. Unlike recluse spiders, black widows are more commonly found outdoors, under rocks, in crawl spaces and particularly near protected water and power meters.

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