A woman found dead in her home in a remote, mountainous area was the victim of the first fatal black bear attack in California, wildlife officials say.
Patrice Miller’s body was discovered by sheriff’s deputies conducting a welfare check because she had not been seen in days.
After arriving at the property in Sierra Nevada, they found a broken door and bear droppings on the porch.
“It looked like the bear had probably been there for several days and had been feeding on the remains,” Sheriff Mike Fisher told local media.
An autopsy and DNA test recently confirmed that the bear had killed the 71-year-old man.
“This incident is the first known and documented fatal attack by a black bear in California history,” the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.
It was originally thought that Mrs. Miller, who lived in the small town of Downieville, had died before the bear arrived, and that her scent had attracted the animal to the property.
Concerned neighbors reported seeing the bear repeatedly return to the house, and it was then trapped and euthanized.
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Steve Gonzalez, spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said: “It’s a big problem. That doesn’t happen in California.
“Normally a bear will stay away from you, a bear that hasn’t been normalized into human behavior.”
Bears breaking into homes or trash cans in search of food have become a problem in the state, with some raiding refrigerators and diving into pools and hot tubs in their backyards.
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