A bear is believed to have attacked and killed a 60-year-old Missouri man who was camping in the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas in a rare fatal attack, according to local officials.

The man's children called police in Newtown County after they had not heard from their father during his trip to Sam's Throne campground for a couple of days, Sheriff Glenn Wheeler said in a statement.

Police found the man's body several yards beyond the campsite, with injuries like those from a "large carnivore attack", the sheriff's office said.

The bear suspected to have attacked the man has been caught and killed.

Officials have not yet released the name of the 60-year-old victim.