Black bear kills Utah boy
Associated Press
June 18, 2007 at 6:57 PM EDT
AMERICAN FORK, Utah ? An 11-year-old boy was dragged screaming from his family's tent and killed by a black bear during a Father's Day outing in the Utah wilderness.
The boy, his mother, stepfather and a 6-year-old brother were sleeping in a large tent Sunday night in American Fork Canyon, about 50 kilometres southeast of Salt Lake City, when the stepfather heard a scream.
The boy and his sleeping bag were gone. His body was found about 350 metres away, said Lt. Dennis Harris of the Utah County sheriff's office. His identity was not released.
Authorities said the bear, a male possibly 120 kilos, probably was the same one that was snooping around a different tent in the same area before dawn Sunday.
Wildlife officers shot a black bear Monday and flew its remains out of the Wasatch Mountains for tests to confirm that it was responsible for the fatal mauling. The officers used 26 dogs to track the bear's scent, shooting and wounding him. The creature wandered around wounded until officers shot and killed him several hours later, said Lt. Scott White of the state wildlife agency.
Authorities said the death was Utah's first fatal attack on a human by a black bear. It follows reports of several bear sightings during spring and occurred just hours after other people in the same primitive campsite likely encountered the same animal.
Associated Press
June 18, 2007 at 6:57 PM EDT
AMERICAN FORK, Utah ? An 11-year-old boy was dragged screaming from his family's tent and killed by a black bear during a Father's Day outing in the Utah wilderness.
The boy, his mother, stepfather and a 6-year-old brother were sleeping in a large tent Sunday night in American Fork Canyon, about 50 kilometres southeast of Salt Lake City, when the stepfather heard a scream.
The boy and his sleeping bag were gone. His body was found about 350 metres away, said Lt. Dennis Harris of the Utah County sheriff's office. His identity was not released.
Authorities said the bear, a male possibly 120 kilos, probably was the same one that was snooping around a different tent in the same area before dawn Sunday.
Wildlife officers shot a black bear Monday and flew its remains out of the Wasatch Mountains for tests to confirm that it was responsible for the fatal mauling. The officers used 26 dogs to track the bear's scent, shooting and wounding him. The creature wandered around wounded until officers shot and killed him several hours later, said Lt. Scott White of the state wildlife agency.
Authorities said the death was Utah's first fatal attack on a human by a black bear. It follows reports of several bear sightings during spring and occurred just hours after other people in the same primitive campsite likely encountered the same animal.
