Woman Killed by Black Bear on Island North of Minnesota
Experts say an Attack by a Black Bear is 'Extremely Rare'
INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say a Minnesota woman has been killed by a black bear on an island in Canadian waters.
Ontario Provincial Police say 62-year-old Catherine Sweatt-Mueller, of Maple Plain, was staying with her parents in a remote cabin on Red Pine Island in Rainy Lake when she was killed.
The Star Tribune reports that police Constable Jim Davis says Sweatt-Mueller went outside Sunday evening when she heard her two dogs barking, but that she never returned.
Davis says her parents called police. Officers found a bear standing over Sweatt-Mueller’s body and shot the animal.
Minnesota wildlife biologist Andy Tri says a predatory attack by a black bear is “beyond extremely rare.”
Red Pine Island is about 10 miles northeast of International Falls, Minnesota.
