11 Year Old Killed by Bear

Wow, this is so sad. This was one of the campgrounds that I saw when I was looking to camp out there too.

Wilderness expert discusses fatal bear attack in Utah County

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A wilderness resource expert discussed what is being done after an 11-year-old boy is dragged from his family's campsite and killed by a bear in Utah County.

It happened late Sunday at the Timpooneke Campground in American Fork Canyon.

The 11-year-old's family was camping along the Timpooneke Trail in the Timpanogos Wilderness Area in Utah County when the boy disappeared.

County investigators say the family found a tear in the tent and called for help. Searchers found blood and quickly realized the boy's disappearance was most likely a bear attack. His body was found shortly after 1AM near the family's campsite. Investigators have not released the name of the boy or his family.

Experts say they are currently tracking the bear, and it will be destroyed when it is found because it poses a serious public safety threat.

Stay tuned to ABC 4 News and www.abc4.com throughout the day for further developments in this story.

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I read that in today's paper.... though the version I got said the bear had been destroyed already. (Apparently they examined his "innards" and found he was, indeed, the killer.)

Scary! I can't imagine.

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Originally Posted by zippy-kat

I read that in today's paper.... though the version I got said the bear had been destroyed already. (Apparently they examined his "innards" and found he was, indeed, the killer.)

Scary! I can't imagine.

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You're right, I don't know how I read the early report before the current reports. I'll post them next.

Here's an update

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Uinta National Forest blames deadly bear attack on dirty campers

Robert Walz


UINTA NATIONAL FOREST - A heap of garbage with half eaten food stuffed into a fire ring at a campsite in American Fork Canyon illustrates what some campers leave behind and what officials with the Uinta National Forest Service claim triggered the bear attack that killed 11-year old Samuel Ives.

"It's usually the person who pays the price did not cause the problem, it's prior camp experiences the black bear has had with dirty campers," said Uinta National Forest Service District Ranger John Logan. "Wildlife fear humans and stay away from humans. It's just when they have these food familiarities that we have problems."

Around a half a million black bears roam the forests in North America but they have killed humans only 29 times in recorded history. More people die from spider bites than from black bear attacks.

But Logan said that once the bears experience the easy of leftovers they lose their fear of humans. "Maybe a potato that you didn't want and threw in the bushes, or a marshmallow that fell into the fire pit. These things all become attractants to bears." Logan said.

Less than a month ago a 250-pound black bear wandered through yards and basements in Jeremy Ranch looking for a fast meal. No one got hurt but according to the Forest Service the bear now poses a threat to humans and will likely need to be hunted down and killed.

An examination of the stomach contents of the bear shot by officers in American Fork Canyon confirmed it mauled the Ives boy. If they had not found the killer bear officials said they would have closed off sections of the forest to campers until they did.

Rangers did post warning signs around the campsites but admit they would have taken more precautions if they had known the seriousness of the bear activity that had occurred before the deadly attack. "It was reported as only a brush by," Logan said. "Not the detail of what that really was."

The forest supervisor will review the actions taken up to the deadly attack but said a change in the habits of campers will do more to protect people from bears than any change in division policy.

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Family of boy killed by bear upset with Forest Service

Terry Wood
Chris Jones


The grandfather of an 11-year-old boy who was killed by a 300 pound black bear late Sunday night says more could have been done to avoid the tragedy.

Eldon Ives addressed members of the media on Tuesday, he asked why forest service employees didn't shut down the park or at least warn campers about a bear attack just hours earlier.

"We do feel that the camp ground should have been closed down and there should have been a warning to campers that there had been a problem with a bear in that area," says Ives.


Bear warning posted on DWR information sign

Several hours earlier Jake Francom and his girlfriend of American Fork were attacked by the same black bear in almost the same location in the Uinta National Forest.

Sam Ives was attacked in his tent while he and his family slept late Sunday night.

"They heard his screaming, 'leave me alone,' or something to that affect," says Ives. Sam was dragged from the tent, that screaming woke the family who went looking for him immediately.

"The step father didn't know what was happening, by the time he got up, there was a hole in the tent and Sam and his sleeping bag was gone," says Ives.

Sam was found, mauled, about 400 yards away.

"We're still in shock here, it's difficult to comprehend and to come to terms with," Says Ives.

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I didn't realize this story had made national news, I have been following it on the local news. It's really sad. :( I go up that canyon all the time, honestly I have never even seen a bear in Utah. I was at a local free concert tonight and they dedicated it to the boy, I believe the family was from my city. From what I've heard the same bear ripped through a tent in the same camp earlier in the day, I think they should have closed the campground after that, or at least warned people.

I wish I could post the article that appeared in my paper. I could retype it but I've already lined the bunny's litterbox with it. :rolleyes:

At any rate, it talked about how the kid was screaming, "Something's dragging me!" And the Dad thought the kid had been abducted (due to the slit in the tent); he drove (ran?) to the campground manager person (sorry, I have no idea what the correct term is) and that guy called the cops.

They later found the body.


That article mentioned nothing about the "dirty campers." So that information puts a new spin on it for me. (I don't like bears AT ALL --little bit of a phobia-- so my thoughts were/are somewhat prejuidice.)


You know, some people never think of how their actions impact those in their wake. That poor family. :(

I like bears...they are beautiful animals...to see from a distance in the safety of my car. :o I've seen several in Yellowstone/Tetons, even a couple of grizzlies. But I have a bear phobia too, I'm really paranoid when tent camping, I don't let any food in the tent, period, everything has to be stored in the car, etc. and my friend thinks I'm nuts. I told her about this and she still says I have an irrational fear of bears. :rolleyes: It's sad because people feeding wild animals (intentionally or not) leads to problems for both the animals and the people. :(

OMG........the stomach contents of the bear confirmed it ???? The bear ate the kid ????? Your kidding !!!!!! Bears eat people ????????????????
Wom

That poor kid. I feel so sorry for his family. :(

How heartbreaking. :( And scary it was so close to where we were!

That is so sad, We have bears around here and since everybody keeps building houses where all the woods and land is the bears, wild cats and deer are appearing much more. I live in town and a few weeks ago somebody hit a coyote not even a block away from my house and a couple days before that it tried to eat some ladies dog. We also had deer in our yard like a yr ago! I couldnt imagine a bear though they are so pretty but so scary!

So tragic. :( :(

Even when we tent camped in Kentucky, we took measures to keep wild animals out of the tent. Locking food in the trunk and taking all garbage to the dumpsters.

That is one of the most effing scariest Close Encounters with wild animals..


I had one once, I didn;t get eaten, but it took me three days to get over it. :eek:

Poor child & poor bear.

I think humans are not giving bears enough space.

Poor kid, he didn't even do anything to provoke this bear. :( I feel so bad for that family.

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Originally Posted by wombat2u2004

OMG........the stomach contents of the bear confirmed it ???? The bear ate the kid ????? Your kidding !!!!!! Bears eat people ????????????????
Wom

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yep....they sure do.utah has had a dry spell this year so food is low.the bears get quite hungry & will eat just about anything edible & that includes human flesh.i sure hope the boy died quickly but i doubt it.

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Originally Posted by james

yep....they sure do.utah has had a dry spell this year so food is low.the bears get quite hungry & will eat just about anything edible & that includes human flesh.i sure hope the boy died quickly but i doubt it.

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Yeah, but it was a black bear. I've heard of grizzlies eating people.....but I thought black bears werre much smaller and sort of harmless.
Wom

when a wild animal is hungry they will pretty much eat anything.may the boy RIP.

I feel sorry for the boy and his family, but, it's a tragedy that humans encroach on wildlife's habitat and don't have enough respect for it to clean up after themselves which allows things like this to happen. It's not the bear's fault. He/she was working instinctively. He/she was protected his/her food source.

When I was in high school we went camping in MT and found out that we were staying in a motel for the night before we took off hiking the next day. At camp the following day they told us that 2 people had been killed in that campsite 2 nights before. They were told exactly where they shouldn't camp, and that's where they plopped their tent. Hmmmm...and they say animals are brainless.

I truly feel for the boy and the suffering that I'm sure he endured...how horribly frightening and painful. RIP