Bear attack killed camper found dead in Great Smoky Mountains last year, park reveals
A camper found dead last year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was killed by a bear, the National Park Service revealed Thursday in a news release.
It counts as the first time on record that anyone in North Carolina has been killed by a bear, state wildlife officials told McClatchy News.
The conclusion was reached after an investigation by the N.C. Chief Medical Examiner, park officials said.
Patrick Madura likely died “due to trauma caused by a bear,” the park said.
His death counts as “the second bear-related fatality in the history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” which straddles both sides of the North Carolina-Tennessee state line.
Backpackers stumbled upon the scene of Madura’s death in September, after first finding an empty tent “in the park’s Hazel Creek Area,” officials said.
“They later discovered what appeared to be human remains across the creek with a bear scavenging in the area,” the park said in a release .
“Upon arriving at campsite 82, park law enforcement rangers and wildlife officers observed a bear actively scavenging on the remains and promptly euthanized the bear. Hazel Creek Trail and campsite 82 were closed in response to the incident and have since reopened.”
Madura, 43, lived in Elgin, Illinois, and was on a multi-day backpacking trip when he was attacked by a 231-pound bear, according to National Parks Traveler. He booked a campsite in the park “for the night of September 8” and was found dead three days later, the site said.
The coroner’s report comes two months after a bear attacked and seriously hurt a 16-year-old Tennessee girl as she was camping with her family, officials said. The attack occurred at 12:30 a.m. on June 18, when she was sleeping in a hammock, officials said.
Park rangers ultimately killed the bear, noting it repeatedly returned to the campsite during their investigation. The girl was hospitalized for ”multiple injuries including lacerations to the head,” officials said.
“Bears are an iconic symbol in the Smokies, but they are also dangerous wild animals, and their behavior is sometimes unpredictable” Bill Stiver, the park’s supervisory wildlife biologist, said in a release.
“There are inherent risks associated with hiking and camping in bear country. Black bears are the largest predator in the park, and although rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injury and death.”
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