DNA evidence has confirmed that a female grizzly bear and her three cubs killed a Canadian mother and daughter during a walk on a nature trail.
Forensic testing conclusively linked all four bears to the deaths of Jenny Balcarras, 48, and her 20-year-old daughter, Selah Reed, the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said Tuesday.
The women were found about 490 feet apart near a trail outside Bella Coola, roughly 620 miles north of Vancouver, last week.
After reviewing the evidence, conservation officers killed all four bears, citing the need to “protect public safety.”
The service said the “rare” fatal encounter likely involved predatory behavior, although it did not release further details.
Balcarras was reported missing by her family after she went to the Snooka West Trail area on Saturday, October 31, and failed to make her usual nighttime call to her sister.
Her remains were discovered on November 2. Reed’s remains were found the following day inside a bear cache, where bears store food.
DNA testing also showed that the four bears were not responsible for a separate grizzly attack on about 20 elementary school students and teachers in the same area last November. Eleven people were injured in that incident, including two who suffered critical injuries.
Jenny Balcarras, 48, and her daughter, Selah Reed, 20, were found dead near a trail outside Bella Coola last week after a “rare” fatal encounter with four bears
The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said Tuesday that Balcarras and Reed were killed by a female grizzly bear and her three cubs
Balcarras’s brother, Josh Balcarras, said the mother and daughter knew the trail well and had gone out for a “casual walk.”
“It’s surreal,” he told CBC News. “It doesn’t seem real. It feels like a dream.”
Inspector Jeff Tyre described the fatal attack and its suspected predatory behavior as “very rare.”
“We don’t know how it started, but we know how it ended,” Tyre told reporters during an online briefing Tuesday.
Tyre said more than a dozen conservation officers were involved in the complex investigation into what he called a “heartbreaking event.”
He said the officers operated in “difficult terrain and weather” while working to manage ongoing risks to both the public and their own safety.
All trapping equipment used during the response has been removed, and the investigation is now complete.
Authorities stressed that fatal grizzly attacks involving predatory behavior are rare. They also said people can reduce their risk by keeping pets leashed and traveling in groups.
Balcarras was reported missing after failing to make her regular nighttime call to her sister, and her remains were found on November 2
Balcarras disappeared after visiting the Snooka West Trail and failing to make contact with her family
The bears that killed Balcarras and her daughter were not involved in a separate grizzly attack that injured 11 people in the same area last November
A GoFundMe campaign organized by relative Mary Melissa Smith said Balcarras had recently moved to Bella Coola “to pursue a new career and begin a new chapter in her life.”
Because of the move, Smith said, Balcarras had not yet built up savings or set aside money for unexpected expenses.
According to the fundraiser, Balcarras is survived by three young adult children—one son and two daughters—as well as a grandchild.
Reed was remembered as a young woman who had “her whole life ahead of her.”
“She was only beginning her journey into adulthood, making this loss even more heartbreaking,” Smith wrote.
The campaign said donations would help pay funeral costs and other related expenses. The funeral is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
By Wednesday evening, the fundraiser had collected about $81,200 CAD, or $57,000 USD, toward its $90,000 CAD, or $63,166 USD, goal.
Balcarras’s brother said the mother and daughter knew the trail and were taking a “casual walk” when they were killed
A GoFundMe campaign said Balcarras is survived by three young adult children—one son and two daughters—and a grandchild
The Nuxalk Nation, an Indigenous community based in Bella Coola, said the deaths had revived painful memories of last year’s bear attack.
“This attack has been deeply re-triggering for our community members as we continue to recover from last year’s attack,” Tlhmtimut Samuel Schooner, the Nuxalk Nation’s elected chief councilor, said Tuesday.
In response to the latest deaths, the Nuxalk Nation has advised residents to observe an 8 p.m. curfew.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has also sent officers into the area. They will escort students from school buses, conduct additional nighttime patrols and offer voluntary late-night rides.
Residents have also been urged to remove fruit from trees and keep dogs indoors or on a leash.
The Daily Mail has contacted the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service for further comment.