In the quiet fjord town of Bella Coola, where roughly two thousand people live at the edge of British Columbia's wild central coast, a mother has been found dead and her 19-year-old daughter is still missing, with a grizzly bear believed responsible. It is a rare and terrible event in a land where bears are a familiar presence, and it lands on a community still carrying the memory of last year's school-group mauling, a wound that was never answered by the capture of the animal. The search and the trapping continue, and the people most affected are asking for space to grieve.
One dead, another missing after suspected grizzly attack near Bella Coola, British Columbia
A mother has died and her 19-year-old daughter remains missing after a suspected grizzly bear attack.
A mother is dead and her 19-year-old daughter is still missing.
Mark
Why does this story land so heavily in Bella Coola in particular?
Mimi
Because it's the second time in a year. Last November a grizzly attacked a school group near 4 Mile, injuring eleven people, some only nine years old. The bear was never found.
Mark
And now a mother is dead and her daughter is missing.
Mimi
Yes. Jenny Balcarras, an art therapist, and her 19-year-old daughter. Relatives reported them missing, and their vehicle turned up at a trailhead near the community.
Luke
Let me mark what's confirmed. The mother's body was found Sunday. Is it confirmed a grizzly killed her?
Mimi
No. The language is "suspected" attack. Officials haven't said in the reporting what caused the death.
Mark
Chief Schooner mentioned a trapping effort. Does that suggest they know which bear?
Luke
Not from what's reported. Trapping is under way, but nothing says a specific bear has been identified. Last year's bear was never located either.
Mark
How unusual is this?
Mimi
Attacks in the province are exceedingly rare, though grizzlies are a common sight around Bella Coola because of the food and the remote setting.
Luke
And the daughter's fate is simply unknown. The search is ongoing, and that's all we can say.
Mimi
The Nuxalk Nation has also asked media not to contact residents, which says a lot about how raw this is.
The Pulse
- A mother is dead and her daughter is still missing somewhere along the Snooka West trail near Bella Coola.
- Relatives raised the alarm over the weekend, and their family vehicle was later found at a nearby trailhead.
- Conservation officers are hunting for a grizzly bear while the search for the young woman goes on.
- The Nuxalk Nation has asked the media to stay away from residents, and a community already shaken by last year's attack is bracing for another round of grief.
In the quiet fjord town of Bella Coola, where roughly two thousand people live at the edge of British Columbia's wild central coast, a mother has been found dead and her 19-year-old daughter is still missing, with a grizzly bear believed responsible. It is a rare and terrible event in a land where bears are a familiar presence, and it lands on a community still carrying the memory of last year's school-group mauling, a wound that was never answered by the capture of the animal. The search and the trapping continue, and the people most affected are asking for space to grieve.
On Sunday, a British Columbia conservation officer searching near Bella Coola found the body of a woman. Her 19-year-old daughter had not been found. The service announced both facts on Tuesday, saying it had been searching for the two since the weekend.
The dead woman has been identified as Jenny Balcarras, an art therapist. Relatives had reported the pair missing, and a family member's Facebook post later revealed that their vehicle had been found at a trailhead near town. Authorities believe a grizzly bear is responsible for the attack, which took place in the Snooka West trail area about 8 kilometres east of Bella Coola. Inspector Jeff Tyre offered condolences to the families in a video posted online.
Bella Coola sits at the end of a fjord in the Great Bear rainforest, where grizzlies are common but attacks are exceedingly rare. The community is also still reeling from last November, when a grizzly attacked a school group on a lunch break near 4 Mile, injuring eleven people, some of them children. That bear was never found.
Nuxalk Nation Chief Samuel Schooner spoke to both tragedies, saying the trauma would be felt by the victims' families, by last year's survivors, and by the whole community. A trapping effort is under way, and he has asked the media not to contact residents. Whether the daughter is found and whether the bear is caught remain open questions.
On Sunday, an officer with the British Columbia conservation officer service, searching near the central coast community of Bella Coola, found the body of a woman. Her 19-year-old daughter had not been found. The service announced both facts on Tuesday in a social media post, saying it had begun looking for the two missing people over the weekend.
The dead woman has been identified as Jenny Balcarras, an art therapist. Relatives reported her and her daughter missing over the weekend. A family member posted about the pair on Facebook and later updated the post, after the conservation service announced a suspected attack, to say that their vehicle had been found at a trailhead near Bella Coola.
Authorities believe a grizzly bear is responsible. The suspected attack took place in the Snooka West trail area, about 8 kilometres (just under 5 miles) east of Bella Coola. The search for the daughter is continuing.
Inspector Jeff Tyre spoke in a video posted online. "Our thoughts are with the families of the victims during this tragic time," he said.
Bella Coola is a community of roughly 2,100 people at the end of a fjord on the province's central coast. The area is informally known as the Great Bear rainforest, and its remoteness and abundant food sources make grizzlies a common sight. Attacks, however, are exceedingly rare in British Columbia.
This one comes in the same community where, last November, a grizzly burst from the forest near 4 Mile, a Nuxalk community, and attacked a school group on a lunch break beside a walking trail. Eleven people were injured, some as young as nine. Despite an extensive search, that bear was never found.
Samuel Schooner, elected chief of the Nuxalk Nation, addressed both events on Tuesday. "While the full circumstances are still unfolding, we understand first-hand the trauma this incident will inflict upon the victims' family members, the victims of last year's attack and the community at large," he said. He added that the nation's thoughts were with Balcarras's family as they learn of the news.
Schooner said a trapping effort to find the bear is under way. He asked media to refrain from contacting community members. What remains to be seen is whether the daughter is found and whether the bear is caught, which did not happen after last year's attack.
Notable Quotes
Our thoughts are with the families of the victims during this tragic time.— Inspector Jeff Tyre, BC conservation officer service
Schooner said a trapping effort to find the bear was under way and asked media to refrain from contacting community members.— Samuel Schooner, elected chief of the Nuxalk Nation (paraphrased)
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