A California lady who died final fall was killed by a black bear, not mauled after her loss of life as authorities initially suspected, in response to post-mortem studies launched in Could. State officers say the loss of life is the state’s first documented case of a deadly black bear assault on a human.
The physique of Patrice Miller, 71, was found in her Downieville, California, dwelling on Nov. 8 by sheriff’s deputies who have been requested to examine on the girl after she had not been heard from for a number of days. They arrived to discover a damaged door and bear scat on the porch. Miller’s physique was found inside the home.
“It appeared that the bear had most likely been there a number of days and had been feeding on the stays,” Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher informed KCRA-3 TV.
Officers initially believed that Miller died of pure causes earlier than the bear broke in, however an post-mortem report launched in Could confirmed that the reason for loss of life was resulting from “a bear mauling or a swipe and a chunk to the neck space,” Fisher mentioned.
Miller’s daughter informed officers that “bears have been consistently making an attempt to get in by means of damaged home windows and that her mom had bodily hit one to maintain it from coming into her residence,” in response to a sheriff’s workplace report. “A bear her mom named ‘massive bastard’ was a frequent customer to the residence.”
Even after authorities cleared the scene, the bear returned to the house every day, and The California Division of Fish and Wildlife ultimately trapped a bear on the property. In keeping with The Mountain Messenger newspaper, which first reported the post-mortem outcomes, CDFW officers needed to launch the bear, which they thought was feminine, as a result of DNA testing on the scene advised the accountable bear was male. After the sheriff positioned a padlock on the entice and threatened to alert the media of the upcoming launch, a biologist was referred to as in to tranquilize the bear, and it was examined and located to be male. It was then euthanized. A DNA comparability carried out by CDFW confirmed that the bear was answerable for Miller’s loss of life, the paper reported.
“Authorities initially believed the bear had entered the girl’s home after she had died,” the CDFW mentioned in an announcement to Folks on June 2, “however the coroner’s report confirmed that, finally, the bear induced the girl’s loss of life. … This incident is the primary identified, documented deadly assault by a black bear in California historical past.”
Bears have continued to be a presence in Downieville, a mountain neighborhood of lower than 300 folks within the Sierra Nevadas. In Could, one other male bear was killed by deputies after making an attempt to interrupt into native properties and the college fitness center whereas kids have been current. “Sheriff Fisher expresses deep remorse over the need of this motion however emphasizes that the security of Sierra County residents stays the utmost precedence”, the workplace mentioned in a press launch. “Efforts will proceed to teach the neighborhood about bear security measures and to collaborate with related authorities to stop comparable incidents sooner or later.”
