Jennifer Balcarras, a 48-year-old art therapist, and her 20-year-old daughter, Selah Reed, were hiking near Bella Coola in British Columbia last Saturday when a grizzly bear is believed to have attacked them, according to the investigation so far. Relatives contacted police on Sunday after the two did not return home as agreed.
Search teams found Balcarras’s body near the Snooka West Trail on Monday. Reed’s remains were found on Tuesday. British Columbia’s Conservation Officer Service has not released details about the condition of the remains or the distance between the two discovery sites.
Several groups are searching the area for the bear. Authorities are also setting traps and installing wildlife cameras. The Conservation Officer Service said the bear will be killed if found, citing public safety.
Wildlife agencies in Canada and the United States record about 30 to 40 grizzly bear attacks each year. British Columbia is home to about 15,000 of Canada’s more than 26,000 grizzlies. Last autumn, a bear near Bella Coola surprised a school group eating lunch in the forest; three children and a teacher were taken to hospital with injuries, some of them serious.
Sources: FAZ.