Video: Black Bear Kills Teenager Running in Father’s Day Trail Race
OutdoorHub Reporters 06.20.17
Authorities in Anchorage, Alaska, have confirmed the death of a 16-year-old boy who was mauled and killed by a black bear while running in an annual Father’s Day trail race near Bird Creek.
Sources say the victim apparently veered off the trail when he was attacked by a large 250-pound black bear.
Just moments before his death, the teen reportedly called his brother to tell him he was being chased by a bear, and was frantically calling for help.
Race director Brad Precosky told KTUU, “One of the brothers of the kid that was up there ran down and came to talk to me, and said his brother was in trouble and that he was being chased by a bear.”
As runners continued down the hill, one runner came barreling down saying there had been an attack, and the entire race crew went into crisis mode.
“There were probably a dozen mountain runners up there keeping the bear on its toes,” Precosky said. “They had the coordinates and GPS, and that’s how they found him.”
“I got a text saying the GPS coordinates were accurate and that the bear was onsite guarding the body, and they needed a weapon.”
According to mlive, witnesses said they saw the bear and then the teen laying on the ground with no motion. “He looked awful.”
Authorities shot the bear in the face with a shotgun, but apparently it disappeared into the brush and is thought to still be wandering the trails.
