Four grizzly bears captured in Bella Coola, British Columbia, have been linked by DNA evidence to the fatal attack that killed a mother and her adult daughter earlier this month, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said. The group includes an adult female grizzly and three yearling cubs. The bears were killed to protect the public, officials said.
The victims were art therapist Jenny Balcarras and her daughter, Selah Reed. Their bodies were found about 150 metres apart on trails outside the community, which sits roughly 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver. Missing-person reports were filed on November 1, and the search that followed ended with the discovery of both bodies.
Investigators believe the attack likely involved predatory behaviour, which is very rare in grizzlies. The origin of the attack remains unknown, and officials have not yet determined what drew the bears to the trails. Conservation officers said that bears responsible for human fatalities cannot be rehabilitated or relocated, which is why the animals were destroyed.
The investigation also ruled out the bears involved in a 2025 attack as the animals responsible for this month's deaths. That earlier incident was a serious one for the same community. Last November, a grizzly injured an adult and three children, and the wounds from that attack have not been forgotten in Bella Coola.
Nuxalk Nation chief councillor Tlhmtimut Samuel Schooner spoke at a community briefing and addressed residents directly. He described a community that is still recovering from last year's attack and now faces a second loss in a matter of months. His remarks came as the community absorbed the news that the bears had been killed.
Officials said a voluntary curfew has been imposed locally, asking residents to limit their movements during the period of heightened risk. Police have escorted schoolchildren to and from school, and the arrangement will continue while the investigation proceeds. Support services remain in place for residents affected by the deaths and by the earlier attack.
The deaths have drawn attention to the difficult balance between protecting people and managing a wildlife population in a region where grizzlies and human settlements share the same landscape. Bella Coola is a small community on the coast, and its residents have grown accustomed to living alongside bears, which makes the sudden, fatal nature of this attack especially unsettling. Conservation officers are continuing to work with the community and with the Nuxalk Nation on the next steps.
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