They go out for a walk and are attacked by a grizzly bear, mother and daughter die in Canada

Two women are dead, killedpresumably, from a grizzly bear in British Columbia, Canada. The two victims, identified as Jennifer Balcarras48 years old, and 20 years old, had been reported missing on November 1stwhen they hadn’t returned from what was supposed to be a afternoon, according to what the family reported.

Their bodies – the BBC reports – were found on a trail in Bella Coola, according to the British Columbia Wildlife Conservation Service (BCCOS), which said that evidence at the site “suggests the involvement of an animal”. Officers are working to track down the bears involved.

The discovery

Balcarras’ remains were found on Monday and Reed’s on Tuesday, during searches conducted by Bccos officers and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Bccos inspector Jeff Tyre said it was not yet clear whether more than one animal was potentially involved in the deaths of the two women. He added that any bear captured will be examined and, if found to be involved in the attack,

“It will be culled in accordance with provincial human-wildlife conflict management guidelines to protect public safety.”

Mother and daughter inseparable

Balcarras and Reed were “like a drop in the bucket”, “got along very well” and shared many hobbies, Balcarras’ brother, Josh Balcarras, told CBC.

“When Jenny went hiking, Selah was always there next to her.”

Balcarras had recently moved to Bella Coola to pursue a new career and begin a new chapter in her life. Grizzly bears are classified as a species of “special concern” under federal legislation and are an important part of British Columbia’s landscape, according to Environmental Reporting BC.

Grizzly numbers

It is estimated that There are between 10,000 and 13,000 grizzly bears living in the provinceaccording to the province’s Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks, which classified them as vulnerable.

According to the ministry, conflicts between bears and humans are “relatively rare” unless the animals are frightened or are protecting their cubs and food. However, several attacks have occurred in British Columbia in recent years. In October 2025, a grizzly bear injured two hikers in the McGregor Mountain area; one of them later died due to the serious injuries he sustained.

The bear was later found dead. The following month, a bear attacked a school group, also in the Bella Coola area, injuring 11 people. The BC Wildlife Federation said reports of conflicts between grizzly bears and humans have increased since the province introduced a ban on sport hunting of grizzly bears in 2017. “Without hunting pressure, grizzly bears and humans will increasingly occupy the same spaces, with inevitable consequences,” BCWF executive director Jesse Zeman said at the time.