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Disasters

Officials kill four grizzly bears that DNA links to two deaths in Canada

Wildlife officials say the attack near Bella Coola likely involved predatory behavior, and the bears were not behind last year's attack on a school group.

10 news outlets reported this
Liberal4 outletsDNA confirmation and a community still recoveringCenter2 outletsInvestigation findings and the victims' familiesConservative4 outletsOfficials' findings and the case being closed
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

Wildlife officials in British Columbia said on Tuesday that DNA tests link four grizzly bears to the deaths of a mother and her adult daughter near Bella Coola, a remote community in western Canada. The bears are a female and her three yearling cubs. The victims are Jenny Balcarras, 48, and her daughter Selah Reed, 20.

All four bears were put down for public safety, the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said. Inspector Jeff Tyre said investigators found the attack likely involved predatory behavior, which he called "very rare." He added that officials do not know how it started but know how it ended.

Family members raised the alarm when Reed missed a Saturday night call with her sister. Searchers found the mother's remains first. Reed's remains were in a spot where bears store food.

Tyre said the four bears had no part in a separate grizzly attack last November on a school group in the same area. Eleven people were hurt in that attack. He said bears that kill people cannot be rehabilitated or relocated.

Local authorities imposed a voluntary curfew, and the Nuxalk Nation's elected chief councilor called the attack "deeply re-triggering" for the community.

Key figures
  • Four grizzly bearskilled after DNA linked them to the deathsBBC News
  • Elevenpeople injured in the November 2025 school-group attack, two criticallyThe Seattle Times
  • about 20elementary school students and teachers in that groupThe Seattle Times
  • more than a dozenconservation officers in the investigationBBC News

Three sides of the story

4Liberal2Center4Conservative

10 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal4 outlets

DNA confirmation and a community still recovering

CBS News runs the wire report under the headline "4 grizzly bears killed mom and daughter in Canada, DNA confirms." It opens with the finding that four captured grizzlies caused the deaths and that investigators believe the attack was rare and predatory. It quotes Inspector Jeff Tyre: "we don't know how it started, but we know how it ended."

It then turns to the Nuxalk Nation, still recovering from last year's school-group attack, and quotes elected chief councilor Samuel Schooner calling the new attack "deeply re-triggering." CBS adds a section on other grizzly attacks in the province, citing the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks estimate of 10,000 to 13,000 grizzlies. The New York Times headline says Canadian authorities killed four bears involved in a deadly attack on hikers.

DNA and other evidence, the Times reports, definitively tied a sow and her three cubs to the killings of two women on a hiking path in British Columbia.

Center2 outlets

Investigation findings and the victims' families

BBC News leads with four grizzlies killed after a fatal attack on a mother and daughter. It quotes Tyre saying the bears were destroyed "in accordance with provincial human-wildlife conflict response guidelines." It says more than a dozen officers worked in "difficult terrain and weather."

The BBC also gives space to the victims' family, quoting Balcarras' brother Josh, speaking to CBC, who called the pair "two peas in a pod." It ends with Chief Samuel Schooner's statement thanking the Conservation Officer Service and calling the attack "deeply re-triggering." The Seattle Times carries the Associated Press wire report under the headline "4 grizzly bears linked by DNA to deadly attack on mother and daughter in Canada."

It reports the women's remains were found about 150 meters apart, the voluntary curfew, and police escorts for children going to school.

Conservative4 outlets

Officials' findings and the case being closed

Breitbart News headlines that officials "put down" four grizzlies responsible for the deaths. It says the bears were "following their natural predator instincts." It gives a timeline: the women went missing Nov. 1 and were found Nov. 2-3.

It reports that trapping equipment has been removed, the investigation is deemed concluded, and further analysis will examine the response and circumstances. It quotes Tyre at length, including that such bears are dispatched "to protect the public and prevent similar attacks." It adds that, according to Canadian outlets, the bear in the 2025 school attack was never found.

The New York Post runs the Associated Press wire report under the DNA-link headline. The Washington Times uses the same headline and reports that the four captured grizzlies killed the two women and that investigators believe the attack was a rare predatory one.

All sources: 11 articles from 10 outlets

Liberal (4)

Center (2)

Conservative (5)

Related
  1. Mother and daughter found dead in suspected grizzly bear attack in British Columbia
  2. Officials kill four grizzly bears that DNA links to two deaths in CanadaThis story