An autopsy revealed that a California woman who was discovered dead in her Sierra County house in 2023 was killed by a black bear, the first documented incidence of such a fatal attack.
On November 8, 2023, deputies from the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office responded to the house of 71-year-old Downieville resident Patrice Miller to conduct a welfare check. The sheriff’s office discovered Miller dead and stated the evidence suggested a possible bear encounter.
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At the time, the sheriff’s office stated that the first investigation revealed Miller was deceased before the bear entered.
However, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on Thursday that they recently obtained an autopsy report indicating that a bear assault killed the woman.
According to CDFW officials, the Downieville event is the first known deadly black bear attack in California history.
Wildlife officials also revealed that they captured and euthanized the bear involved in the incident. According to CDFW, DNA research confirmed that it was the same bear.
Bear attacks in California
While human contact with black bears is increasing in California’s high country, reports of animal injuries are extremely rare.
Nonetheless, some bear-human interactions have resulted in catastrophic injuries, such as in 2022, when a North Lake Tahoe woman encountered a grizzly in her home.
Wildlife experts blame the rise in bear encounters on an increase in visitors to California’s bear areas, such as the Lake Tahoe region, as well as negligence in protecting food and rubbish. We observed a record number of bears removed from Tahoe structures earlier in 2024.
Downieville is a Sierra Nevada town of less than 300 inhabitants located around 60 miles northwest of Truckee.
California is home to only one bear species: the black bear. When it comes to human contact, black bears are less combative than their grizzly bear counterparts.
