Wildlife officials in British Columbia believe that one or more grizzly bears were involved in an attack that left a mother and daughter dead.
The two victims were hiking on the Snooka West Trail in Bella Coola, Canada, roughly 264 miles northwest of Vancouver and were first reported missing on Sunday, the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said on social media. One of the victims was found dead Monday, and the other was found dead Tuesday.
Provincial wildlife officials did not name either of the deceased, but family members identified them as mother Jennifer Balcarras, 48, and daughter Selah Reed, 20, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. They initially went on to the trail, a five-minute drive from their house, on Saturday.
People were interested in these podcasts
Selah “liked a lot of the same things Jenny liked. I think they got along really, really well. They were two peas in a pod,” Josh Balcarras, the brother of Ms. Balcarras, told the CBC.
The mother’s remains were found Monday, while the daughter’s remains were found Tuesday, according to CBS News.
The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said that they “are working to locate and capture any bears involved. It is not yet clear whether more than one bear was involved. Any captured bear will be assessed. If it is determined to have been involved in the attack, it will be dispatched.”
The suspected fatal bear attack comes nearly a year after another grizzly bear in the Bella Coola area attacked a group of local elementary school students and staff, leaving 11 injured, with two in critical condition.
The bear involved in that attack was never found, according to the Canadian Press.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.