On Monday, authorities were searching for a grizzly bear that killed a woman, an attack that led to the closure of a popular trail near Yellowstone National Park.
The victim’s body was found on Buttermilk Trail near the town of West Yellowstone, Montana, around 8 a.m. Saturday, the state Department of Parks, Wildlife and Fisheries said in a statement.
Gallatin County Sheriff and Coroner Dan Springer said the woman has been identified as Amie Adamson, 48, of Derby, Kansas. She could have been running or walking at the time, he said by email.
Adamson wrote an ebook 2020«Walking Out: One Teacher’s Reflections on Walking Out of the Classroom to Walk America,» about quitting her job as a public school English teacher in 2015 and backpacking from Delaware to Kansas.
A summary prepared by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Beker Cuelho said she died from loss of blood as a result of a bear attack. «The bear attack did not appear to be a predator,» she said.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement Monday that its keepers and bear specialists determined the woman’s injuries were consistent with a bear attack.
Tracks of an adult grizzly and at least one pup were found nearby, the department said.
«The hiker was believed to be alone during the encounter, and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene,» he said.
On Sunday, the National Park Service said the Buttermilk Area, part of the Custer Gallatin National Forest northwest of Yellowstone National Park, will be closed until August 25.
The closure was ordered «to protect public health and safety from unsafe conditions resulting from bear activity in the area,» according to a notice from Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in its statement Monday that the search for the grizzly bear that attacked it has so far been unsuccessful.
«No bears have been caught to date,» he said. «FWP staff also searched the area from an aircraft and did not locate any bears.»
The attack was being investigated by Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Associated Press contributed.