Search teams in Canada discovered the body of a 20-year-old woman and confirmed that both she and her mother were killed in an attack that conservation officials now believe may have involved several grizzly bears. Late Tuesday, conservation officials in British Columbia said the two women, who were reported missing over the weekend, were located near a trail a short distance from their home. The discovery has shaken a community where, earlier this year, a grizzly bear attacked a group of schoolchildren and their teachers. victims during this tragic time,” Inspector Jeff Tire of the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said in a video posted online. Tire later said the conservation service was investigating the possibility that more than one bear was involved in the fatal attack. “We appreciate people’s concerns and desire to help, but it is critical that the public stay away from the area, both because of the danger and to allow officers to do their jobs,” he said. Jenny Balcarras, an art therapist, and her daughter Selah Reed They were reported missing by relatives over the weekend. A family member posted on Facebook about them and then updated it after the conservancy announced the alleged attack to indicate that their vehicle had been found at a trailhead near Bella Coola, British Columbia. Balcarras’ remains were found first and Reed was located a day later. A fundraiser for Balcarras started by her family mourned the death of a woman who had recently moved to Bella Coola, a community. of approximately 2,100 people, to find a new job and “start a new chapter” of his life. He leaves three adult children and a grandson.[Jenny] “He was working to build a future and had not yet had the opportunity to establish savings or set aside funds to help his family with unexpected expenses like these,” wrote his relative Mary Melissa Smith. “Tragically, no one could have anticipated that his family would face such an unimaginable loss.” Smith. Both Balcarras and Reed had lived in communities in remote and rugged parts of the province, as well as in Alaska. The alleged attack occurred in the area of the Snooka West trail, about 8 km (5 miles) east of Bella Coola, on the province’s central coast. Bella Coola, which lies at the end of a fjord along the province’s central coast, is a remote location, and abundant food sources mean that grizzly bears are a common sight in the region, which is known informally. Grizzly bear attacks in the province are extremely rare, but last November, 11 people, some as young as nine years old, were injured when a grizzly bear emerged from the woods near 4 Mile, a community in Nuxalk, and attacked a school group during a lunch break along a walking trail. Despite an extensive search, the bear was never located. Samuel Schooner, elected chief of the Nuxalk Nation, said Tuesday: “Our thoughts are with the victim’s family as they learn of this tragic event.” Schooner said efforts were underway to capture the bear and asked the media to refrain from contacting community members. The province’s premier-designate, Lorne Doerkson, called the news “heartbreaking” and said he was thinking of the families of the victims and the Nuxalk Nation. “At a time of such deep pain and uncertainty, my thoughts are with all those who are suffering and with all those supporting each other during an incredibly difficult day.”
