Paktis Miller, 71, had been plagued by a vicious black bear for months in her small Northern California town until last year, when the bear entered her home and killed her.
When authorities found Miller’s body, chewed up and partially eaten, in his Downieville home last November, they initially thought he may have died of natural causes and that the bear had been attracted by his scent.
However, neighbors reported seeing the bear, which she named “Big Bird,” returning to her house multiple times, according to the Sacramento Bee.
According to the paper, Miller tried to put bars on the windows to keep the bear out before it could breach the door.
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Patrice Miller’s death is the first recorded fatal attack by a black bear on a human in California. (Galen Rowell/Corbis via Getty Images)
Miller’s death is the first recorded fatal attack by a black bear on a human in California.
“It appears the bear had been there possibly for a few days and had been feeding on the remains,” Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher said.
Sierra County sheriff’s deputies found the door to Miller’s home broken in, which is how the bear likely gained entry.
There was bear droppings, blood and paw prints in her living room.
The coroner’s report said the bear likely dragged Miller from her bed into the living room, according to the Bee.
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Miller lived in Downieville, California, which wildlife officials called “middle of bear preferred territory.” (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez/File)
Katilyn Roddy, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s North Central Region, told the paper that the small mountain town is “right in the middle of bear-friendly territory.”
Kathy Koch, the friend who initially called to check on Miller, told the Bee, “When I was a kid, you never saw bears in town. Now they’re everywhere, roaming around. They’re easy prey for bears.”
Koch said Miller wanted the bear removed before it was killed, but did not want it to be harmed.
Koch told the newspaper that Miller had a vegetable patch and a compost heap but didn’t throw out her trash right away, which authorities say may have attracted the bear to her home.
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Of California’s estimated 65,000 black bears, about 40 percent live in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, where Downieville is located, the paper said.
The bear was eventually captured and euthanized.
