ActivePaper Archive Attack by black bear leaves 1 dead - Chattanooga, 4/14/2006

Attack by black bear leaves 1 dead

6-year-old killed, two others injured on Polk County’s Chilhowee Mountain

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Staff Photo by Lido Vizzutti

A Life Force helicopter lands at Erlanger hospital on Thursday. A 2-year-old boy was airlifted from Cherokee National Forest Chilhowee Recreation Area. A 6-year-old girl died in the attack and her mother also was injured in the attack.

One child was killed and two family members were hospitalized after a bear attack Thursday afternoon on Chilhowee Mountain in Polk County, Tenn., according to Cherokee National Forest spokeswoman Nina Barrow. The attack occurred about 4:20 p.m., according to Polk County dispatcher Gary Verner. A 6-year-old girl was killed, and her 45-year-old mother and 2-year-old brother were mauled by the bear, according to Dan Hicks of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. "They suffered a lot of puncture wound injuries consistent with a bear attack," Mr. Hicks said. The attack took place about 1 1/2 miles from the Chilhowee Campground, he said. "It was off the trail to Benton Falls, where some kids had seen a bear earlier," Mr. Hicks said. He said the boy was taken by Life Force helicopter to T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital while the adult was taken to Erlanger hospital by ambulance. Hospital officials on Thursday evening said both mother and son were in critical condition. About 50 to 60 people assisted the county’s rescue squad with the search for the little girl, who had been missing earlier in the day, officials said. Cherokee National Forest Public Affairs Officer Terry McDonald said federal authorities were investigating the attack. "They’ve closed the campground, and they’re getting everybody out," Mr. McDonald said. The search continued into the night on Chilhowee Mountain, but Mr. Hicks said the bear had not been found as of 10:30 p.m. The Chilhowee Recreation Area of the Cherokee National Forest has 88 campsites, and numerous trails surrounding it, according to officials. Bear attacks are rare in the area, but they do happen, officials said. In May 2000, a 50-year-old Cosby, Tenn., schoolteacher became the first person known to die from a bear attack in the history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to previously published reports. That attack happened near Gatlinburg, Tenn., where Glenda Ann Bradley was presumed to have taken a walk near the Little River when she was attacked by two female black bears. Officials said one adult bear weighing 112 pounds and a yearling weighing about 40 pounds were found near the woman’s body, reports stated. The larger of the two bears had been tagged for research purposes and was said by officials not to have shown any aggressive tendencies before the fatal attack. E-mail Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com E-mail Mike O’Neal at moneal@timesfreepress.com