A black bear named ‘Big B*****d’ stalked a 71-year-old California woman for months before she was found mauled to death, as shocked locals warned her: ‘It’s easy for them’ .
Patrice Miller lived in the remote mountain town of Downieville. After the fatal attack, she was found on the kitchen floor, mangled with bite wounds and claw marks, and partially eaten, according to the Sierra County Deputy Sheriff’s Office.
Neighbor Cassie Koch, 55, who helped Miller with errands had not heard from her friend and asked officers to do a welfare check before the grim discovery was made.
Miller, who lived alone with her two cats, had frequent encounters with the bear, so often that she gave the animal a nickname. Koch said that two weeks before her death, the bear tried to enter her home, but Miller was able to scare it away.
In September, Miller rejected a depredation permit from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, considered a last-resort option that allows the animal to be shot before it causes serious damage, according to the department.
Koch described Miller as a “kind person who wanted the bear that was trying to break into his house removed, but not hurt,” he told the newspaper. San Francisco Chronicle.
Patrice Miller, 71, from the remote mountain town of Downieville, was found dead from a fatal bear attack in November 2023. She was found on the kitchen floor, mangled with bite wounds and claw marks, and partially eaten, authorities said.
A surveillance camera photographs a black bear in November 2023
Miller’s death is the first documented human death caused by a black bear in the history of the state of California, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed.
“It’s a big problem,” said department spokesman Steve Gonzalez. ‘That doesn’t happen in California. Normally a bear will stay away from you, a bear that hasn’t been normalized to human behavior.’
Downieville, where that attack occurred, has a population of 105 according to a 2022 U.S. census.
The small city is located in Sierra County, on the north fork of the Yuba River, and is about two hours from the state capital, Sacramento.
When Miller’s body was found, the front door was broken, the interior was ransacked, closets were ripped out, trash was scattered everywhere, and there was bear scat on the porch.
Koch, 55, a longtime resident, told the news outlet, “When I was a kid, you never saw a bear in town.” Now they’re done, making their rounds.
And he added: “For them it is an easy choice.”
Koch said that before Miller died, he often spoke ill of the bear that tried to enter his house and was afraid.
“It seemed like every other night the bear tried to get into their house,” Koch recalls.
“At first, I thought, ‘Oh, this annoying bear.’ But then she seemed scared by it.
Miller lived in a rental house in Downieville with her two cats. After her death, officials used screws and plywood to secure the house and prevent the bear from re-entering.
A state depredation permit was issued and a bear was trapped on the property and euthanized.
After Miller’s death, the bear continued to return to the property and citizens were concerned.
County officials installed plywood over the front door and secured it with dozens of screws.
A state depredation permit and a trap were issued on the property. Two days passed after the trap was set before the bear was captured and then euthanized.as reported by The Mountain Messenger.
An autopsy later revealed that Miller died “due to a bear attack or a hit and bite to the neck area.”
DNA testing confirmed that the first bear euthanized was responsible for killing Miller.
Officials explained that the bear that bothered Miller is known as a “public safety bear” due to its repeatedly aggressive behavior.
For added protection, Miller had installed black steel bars on his windows.
Investigators learned from Miller’s daughter that her mother had an ongoing problem with bears trying to get into her house and that she had physically hit one.
Then another bear became a problem in Downieville and was euthanized after trying to enter a school gym, resulting in a significant decrease in bear activity, the sheriff said.
Bears breaking into homes or trash cans in search of food have become a problem in California, from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra to the foothill suburbs of Los Angeles, where some have been known to raid refrigerators and They soak in pools and hot tubs in their backyards. .
After Miller’s body was found, a local ‘Downieville Crittercam’ captured significant evidence of bears in the surrounding area the same week.
Downieville is located along Highway 49 in the Lost Sierra region of the Tahoe National Forest.
Downieville is located in the remote high Sierra area of California.
According to officials, California’s black bear population has grown from about 10,000 bears to 15,000 since 1982 and to a staggering 65,000 last year.
About 40% of bears are believed to live in the Sierra Nevada, where they have access to an excessive amount of food that has invaded their natural ecosystem.
Experts believe bears have learned to feel more comfortable in areas where humans are present, making encounters more common but also more dangerous.
