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Crime & Safety

Mother and daughter found dead in suspected grizzly bear attack in British Columbia

Officials say they cannot yet tell if one bear or several were involved, and a bear found responsible will be killed.

12 news outlets reported this
Liberal4 outletsa shaken community and the hunt for the bearsCenter5 outletsofficials' search for the bear or bearsConservative3 outletsa routine walk close to home turned deadly
Published 4 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

A mother and her adult daughter were found dead after a suspected grizzly bear attack near Bella Coola, a remote community on British Columbia's central coast. Jennifer Balcarras, 48, an art therapist, and her daughter Selah Reed, 20, were reported missing by family on Sunday, Nov. 1, after they did not return from what was meant to be a short walk on the Snooka West Trail. Royal Canadian Mounted Police and conservation officers searched the area.

They found Balcarras' remains on Monday and Reed's on Tuesday. Inspector Jeff Tyre of the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said the evidence pointed to a possible animal attack. Officials have not determined whether one bear or several were responsible.

Officers are working to find and trap bears. Any captured bear will be assessed, and one found to be responsible will be killed to protect public safety, under provincial guidelines. Tyre asked the public to stay out of the area.

The attack comes nearly a year after a grizzly attacked a school group near Bella Coola and injured 11 people. That bear was never captured.

Key figures
  • 8 p.m. voluntary curfew the Nuxalk Nation recommended for the community, per UPI — UPI
  • 11 people injured in the school group attack near Bella Coola nearly a year earlier — BBC News
  • Between 10,000 and 13,000 grizzly bears estimated in British Columbia, per the province's environment ministry — BBC News

Three sides of the story

Liberal4 outlets

a shaken community and the hunt for the bears

The Guardian leads with search teams finding the second body and says conservation officers now believe the attack could have involved multiple grizzlies. It quotes Tyre's request that the public stay out, along with Nuxalk chief Samuel Schooner and premier-designate Lorne Doerkson, who called the news "heartbreaking." The Independent's headline stresses a "short walk close to home," and it quotes Josh Balcarras calling the pair "two peas in a pod."

It adds the BC Wildlife Federation's argument about encounters rising since the 2017 hunting ban. CBS News also quotes Josh Balcarras and Tyre, who said officials are unsure how many bears took part, and lists earlier attacks in the province. ABC News runs the AP report, headlined that multiple grizzlies may have attacked.

It reports a curfew, the "offending bear" being killed if captured, and Calgary bear-safety founder Kim Titchener on pressures on bear populations.

Center5 outlets

officials' search for the bear or bears

UPI's headline says B.C. officials hunt the bear suspected of the killings. It reports Tyre saying, "we do not know if more than one bear may have been involved," and that no bear had yet been caught. It adds a Nuxalk Nation recommendation of a voluntary 8 p.m. curfew, a statement from regional board chair Jayme Kennedy calling the deaths "a heartbreaking loss," and Tyre on matching DNA from captured bears to the attack site.

Asked if the attack is linked to last year's, Tyre says it is too early to speculate. BBC News opens with the family's announcement. It reports the officer service saying evidence "suggested an animal may have been involved" and quotes the BC Wildlife Federation's Jesse Zeman on the 2017 hunting ban.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal runs the AP report that more than one grizzly may have been involved. NewsNation reports that officials are still working to identify the bear.

Conservative3 outlets

a routine walk close to home turned deadly

The New York Post's headline stresses a "casual walk" minutes from home. It says the mother's "mauled body" was found Monday and notes officials did not detail why they believe a bear was responsible. It quotes Matt Balcarras: "They were not naive city folks."

Fox News reports a woman and her daughter killed on a trail near their home, according to authorities. It cites Tyre's statement that "there was evidence to suggest a bear may have been involved," and that it is not immediately clear whether more than one animal was responsible. Both cite Matt Balcarras speaking to the Vancouver Sun.

The Post also ran the AP report on multiple grizzlies possibly being involved. The Washington Times reports that wildlife officials believe one or more grizzly bears were involved in the attack.

Where outlets disagree
Money and daily life

For people in Bella Coola, the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service asks the public to stay out of the Snooka West Trail area, citing danger and the work of officers who are trapping bears. The AP report says authorities imposed a curfew, while UPI reports the Nuxalk Nation recommended a voluntary 8 p.m. curfew.

All sources: 14 articles from 12 outlets

Liberal (5)

Center (5)

Conservative (4)