Two dead after suspected grizzly bear attack near Bella Coola, B.C., Conservation Officer Service says

The Story

Two people are dead following a suspected grizzly bear attack near Bella Coola, according to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.

In an initial statement issued Tuesday, the service said the remains of one person were found in the west trail area of the Snooka trail system on Monday, and a search was underway for a second person. A representative of the B.C. government said that person was found dead later Tuesday.

The Conservation Officer Service said family members reported the pair missing on Sunday. Art therapist Jenny Balcarras and her daughter were reported missing by relatives. Kara Balcarras, who identified herself as Jenny Balcarras’s sister-in-law, posted about the missing pair on Facebook and later updated it with the Conservation Officer Service’s statement about the apparent attack.

The post said the pair’s vehicle was found at a trailhead near Bella Coola, about 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver by road.

Inspector Jeff Tyre with the Conservation Officer Service said evidence at the scene where human remains were found suggested a bear may have been involved. “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims during this tragic time. We are working to support the family as our investigation continues,” he said in a video statement.

Tyre also said the Conservation Officer Service was urging people to stay away from the Snooka trails due to the potential danger and to allow officers to conduct their work. The service said efforts were underway to find and trap any bears involved, and that any captured bears would be assessed to determine next steps.

The service said that if the bear is determined to be the bear responsible for the attack, it will be dispatched to ensure public safety, as per provincial human-wildlife conflict response guidelines.

The suspected attack comes nearly a year after a grizzly attacked a group of about 20 elementary school students and teachers in Bella Coola, leaving an adult and three children badly injured last November. Emergency Health Services spokesman Brian Twaites said at the time that the earlier attack happened on a trail near Highway 20, and a map on the Bella Coola Community Forest website shows the Snooka trail system is just south of Highway 20.

Samuel Schooner, elected chief of the Nuxalk Nation, said Tuesday that the full circumstances of the latest suspected attack were still unfolding. He added he understood “first-hand the trauma this incident will inflict upon the victims’ family members, the victims of last year’s attack, and the community at large.”