More than one grizzly may have been involved in a bear attack that relatives say left a mother and daughter dead in Bella Coola along the province’s central coast, the Conservation Officer Service in British Columbia said.
The service’s Inspector Jeff Tyre said in a video message that the second body had been found in a search by Royal Canadian Mounted Police and conservation officers on Tuesday afternoon that followed the discovery of the first set of remains a day earlier.
He said it’s “not yet clear if more than one bear was involved,” and any bears captured in the area will be assessed.
Family members of art therapist Jenny Balcarras and her daughter, Selah Reed, had reported them missing on Sunday.
Balcarras’ brother, Matthew Balcarras, said Wednesday that his sister was “incredibly strong” and had lived in many difficult, remote places, including Alaska, before moving to Bella Coola on B.C.’s central coast a few months ago.
“She was a beautiful artist and was an inspiration for me and my brothers,” Matthew Balcarras said of his sister.
Authorities have imposed a curfew on the community, about 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver, as the search for the animal or animals behind the attack continues. If the “offending bear” is captured it will be killed to protect public safety, Tyre said.
A fundraiser set up by relative Mary Melissa Smith said Reed was 20, “with her whole life ahead of her,” while Balcarras leaves behind three young adult children, as well as a grandchild.
Balcarras left behind a son, two daughters and a grandson who now are “faced with the devastating loss of their mother,” while navigating the financial burden of arranging funeral services, Smith said.
The Central Coast Teachers’ Association said on social media that Balcarras had joined their school community as a counselor in August, and she devoted “countless hours to connecting with the students she served and worked closely with teachers and other staff supporting their well-being.”
The attack comes nearly a year after a grizzly attack on a group of 20 elementary school students and teachers in the same area, which left one adult and three children badly hurt.
The animal involved in that attack last November was never captured.
Kim Titchener, founder of Bear Safety & More Inc. based in Calgary, said she was concerned when she saw reports about the women on Facebook hiking groups.
“When I saw that they were missing and in the area that they were missing, my heart just dropped because I just kind of knew this could be a bear attack,” Titchener said.
“This community and area have suffered so much last year,” she said, referring to the grizzly attack on schoolchildren.
Bella Coola is well-known for its large population of grizzly and black bears, and Titchener said it’s common for people in Bella Coola to see bears walking near their homes.
Titchener said there have been “concerning pressures” on bear populations in British Columbia because of the loss of habitat, food stress caused by drought and climate change, setting off more conflicts with people.
“I don’t know if Bella Coola suffered from any drought issues, but certainly other parts of the province of B.C. did,” she said.