A Canadian mother and her daughter died in a suspected grizzly bear attack over the weekend while hiking on a trail near their home, authorities said.
Jennifer Balcarras, 48, an art therapist, and her daughter, Selah Reed, 20, disappeared Saturday after setting out for a walk along the Snooka West Trail, only minutes from their home in Bella Coola, British Columbia.
The family became alarmed when Balcarras did not appear for a scheduled online meeting Saturday, her brother, Matt Balcarras, told The Vancouver Sun.
Jennifer Balcarras, 48, and her 20-year-old daughter, Selah Reed, died in a suspected grizzly bear attack. (Facebook/Josh Kara Balcarras)
When the two could not be reached, relatives contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and requested a welfare check Sunday morning.
Officials found Balcarras’ vehicle at the trailhead. Search crews recovered her body Monday and located Reed’s body Tuesday.
A grizzly bear in Jasper National Park, Canada. Conservation officials said a Canadian woman and her daughter died in a suspected bear attack in British Columbia over the weekend. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
MORE ON THIS: Doctor Who Botched Christa Pike Execution Hadn’t Placed IV Since 2013
“There was evidence to suggest a bear may have been involved,” Jeff Tyre, an inspector with the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service, said in a video update shared on social media.
Tyre said officers were working to “locate and capture any bears involved” and that it was not yet known whether more than one animal played a role.
“Any captured bear will be assessed,” conservation officials said in a statement. “If it is determined to have been involved in the attack, it will be dispatched in accordance with provincial human-wildlife conflict response guidelines to protect public safety.”
Matt Balcarras said he was stunned that the attack occurred in an area his sister and niece knew well, describing both women as experienced in the region.
“They were not naive city folks,” he said. “They were strong women living the life.”
The deaths occurred less than a year after a grizzly bear injured 11 people, including fourth- and fifth-grade students, during a school field trip near Bella Coola.
