Ear found after man bitten in Fort Mill fight that followed bowling dispute

A Fort Mill man was bitten and had part of his ear either bitten off or cut off during a fight that followed a bowling argument, Fort Mill police said.

The cut-off portion of the man’s ear was found Sunday morning and taken to a Charlotte hospital by Fort Mill Police Department officers, so that medical staff could attempt to re-attach it, according to a police report.

Police were called Sunday morning to an urgent care center in the Steele Creek area, just over the North Carolina line from Fort Mill, where the 21-year-old victim was being treated.

A cousin of the victim told police he also was assaulted.

The cousin stated that he posted on Facebook that he and the victim were going bowling in Rock Hill, and that several people showed up to bowl with them, the report said.

An argument happened around 9 p.m. at the Rock Hill bowling alley with the people who were bowling with them, the report says. The argument began over a wallet or a phone that may have been stolen, the report sates.

Later, around 2 a.m. in Fort Mill, the assailants went to the home of the victim and a fight began, the report says. A nurse told police the victim was bruised from multiple kicks and “part of his left ear was missing.”

The victim had bite marks to his shoulder and ear, police said. The missing part of the ear was recovered from the yard, placed into a bag of ice and taken to the hospital, police said.

The case remains under investigation, said Maj. Bryan Zachary of the Fort Mill Police Department.

This story was originally published December 4, 2017 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Ear found after man bitten in Fort Mill fight that followed bowling dispute."