Hunter kills 2 brown bears after man mauled near Kodiak
Chris Klint Chris Klint, Senior Digital Producer,
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POSTED: 11:31 PM AKST Nov 04, 2014 UPDATED: 11:37 PM AKST Nov 04, 2014
Courtesy USCG
ANCHORAGE -
A hunter defending a man seriously injured in a bear mauling killed two bears near Kodiak, according to Alaska State Troopers.
In an AST dispatch issued Tuesday night, troopers say the attack on 68-year-old Sitka resident Michael Snowden was reported by the U.S. Coast Guard at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Coast Guardsmen had responded to the scene on Sally Island -- about 30 miles west of Kodiak, in the east arm of Uganik Bay.
“(Snowden) had been attacked by a brown bear while deer hunting,” troopers wrote. “His hunting partner, Jeff Ostrin age 38, of Camas, Wash., dispatched the bear during the attack. While waiting for help another bear appeared and Ostrin dispatched that bear also.”
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew flew to the site and medevaced Snowden, who was taken to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center for treatment of injuries to his leg.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers subsequently determined that Snowden and Ostrin had come across a family of bears in the incident.
“Investigation by AWT revealed that it was a sow with two large cubs that attacked Snowden,” troopers wrote.
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