Four grizzly bears have been killed in British Columbia after DNA testing conclusively linked them to the deaths of a mother and her daughter near Bella Coola, wildlife officials have said. The animals, a sow and her three yearling cubs, were destroyed under provincial human-wildlife conflict guidelines to protect the public, the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said in a statement on Tuesday, 10 November.

Jenny Balcarras, 48, and her 20-year-old daughter Selah Reed, also reported as Jennifer Balcarras, were reported missing on Sunday, 1 November, after failing to return from a short afternoon walk on the Snooka West Trail near their home in Bella Coola, a remote community about 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver. Search teams found Balcarras on the Monday and Reed the following day, their remains about 150 metres apart.

A walk that ended in tragedy

Officials had initially said only that evidence at the scene suggested an animal may have been involved, and that more than one bear may have taken part. More than a dozen conservation officers were deployed to the area, working through difficult terrain and weather, while DNA testing was carried out to identify the animals responsible.

"Evidence from the investigation as well as animal DNA was analysed and conclusively linked to a sow and its three offspring," Inspector Jeff Tyre of the Conservation Officer Service said. The four bears were captured over the weekend and killed, officials said, because bears found to have taken part in a fatal attack are destroyed under provincial guidelines rather than relocated.

Balcarras, an art therapist, and Reed, a teaching assistant, were described by family as close companions who shared many hobbies. Their deaths have shaken Bella Coola, a community of about 2,000 people on the traditional territory of the Nuxalk Nation. Samuel Schooner, the elected chief of the Nuxalk Nation, said the attack had been "deeply re-triggering" for the community and that support services would remain available for as long as needed.

Rare predatory behaviour

Investigators believe the attack likely involved predatory behaviour, something officials stressed was very unusual for grizzly bears. "Our investigation also found that this attack likely involved predatory behavior, which I can tell you is very rare," Tyre told an online briefing. Officials have not said how the encounter began, and the service said further analysis would examine the response and the circumstances surrounding the deaths, although the investigation itself has now concluded.

Not linked to last year's school attack

DNA testing also confirmed that the four bears were not involved in a separate grizzly attack near Bella Coola in November 2025, when a bear attacked a group of about 20 elementary school students and teachers on a field trip, injuring 11 people, including two critically. The bear responsible for that attack has not been found.

The deaths were the second fatal bear incident in the Bella Coola area in a year, and the outcome will renew debate in British Columbia about how wildlife officials respond when bears kill people. For the families and the Nuxalk Nation community, the confirmation of which animals were responsible brings a measure of closure, but not an end to the grief.

Sources: BBC News, 11 November 2026; Fox News, 11 November 2026.