Patrice Miller had not been seen in days, so sheriff deputies doing a welfare check found her dead.
Sheriff Mike Fisher told local media, “It looked like the bear had probably been there for several days and had been feeding on the remains.”
The 71-year-old’s death at the hands of the bear was just confirmed via an autopsy and DNA testing.
As per the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, “this is the first known, documented fatal attack by a black bear in California history.”
At first, it was thought that Ms. Miller, a longtime resident of Downieville, had died before the bear showed up and that the bear had been lured to the property by her aroma.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Steve Gonzalez stated: “It’s a big deal.” It is not the case in California.
“Normally a bear is going to stay away from you, a bear that hasn’t been normalised to human behaviour.”
In quest of food, bears have started to break into homes and trash cans in the state; some have even been known to raid refrigerators and swim in backyard pools and hot tubs.
