British Columbia conservation officers killed four grizzly bears, a sow and her three cubs, after DNA testing linked them to a fatal attack on a mother and daughter in Bella Coola, according to BBC World. The victims were Jennifer Balcarras, 48, and her daughter, Selah Reed, 20.
The Bella Coola grizzly bear attack happened during an afternoon walk on a trail, according to BBC World. The BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) said forensic testing confirmed that a sow and her three cubs were responsible.
Inspector Jeff Tyre said in an update on Tuesday that evidence and animal DNA were analysed and conclusively linked the attack to a sow and its three offspring, according to a summary of a Reddit r/news post. Tyre said all four bears were destroyed, or ‘dispatched’, under provincial human-wildlife conflict response guidelines to protect the public, according to BBC World. The sources do not say where or how the bears were killed.
Tyre said the attack ‘likely involved predatory behaviour’, which he described as ‘very rare’, according to BBC World.
DNA testing also confirmed that the four bears were not involved in a 2025 attack on a school group in the same Bella Coola area, which injured 11 people, BBC World reported. The bear responsible for that earlier attack was never found, according to BBC World. The sources do not say in detail how the bears’ involvement was ruled out beyond DNA testing.
Samuel Schooner, Elected Chief of the Nuxalk Nation, said in a statement that the attack has been ‘deeply re-triggering’ for community members still recovering from last year’s attack.
A GoFundMe page says Balcarras recently moved to Bella Coola to start a new career and leaves three adult children and a grandchild, according to a summary of a Reddit r/news post. Her brother, Josh, told CBC the two were ‘two peas in a pod’ who shared many hobbies.
The sources differ on timing. BBC World says the deaths occurred ‘earlier this month’, while the Reddit r/news summary says the attack was ‘last week’. The exact date has not been confirmed. The Reddit item was available only as a summary and was not checked in full, so the key details here rest mainly on BBC World.
Neither source includes a response from the RCMP or the BCCOS beyond Tyre’s update. Search efforts by conservation officers and the RCMP led to the discovery of the second set of remains, which were found on Tuesday. The sources do not say whether further findings or reviews will follow the conclusion of the investigation.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.