Alaskan Man Found After Days-Long Battle With Grizzly Bear

The Trek ^ | 7-26-21 | COLLEEN GOLDHORN

[SJackson]

A coast guard helicopter was on its way to a mission in west central Alaska when weather forced them to change their planned route by about a mile. This unexpected detour led to the discovery of a man who was waving frantically for help next to a shack that had “HELP” and “SOS” scratched on the metal roof.

The victim had severe leg injuries, was noticeably sleep deprived, and was waving a white flag on his hands and knees when the officers approached the area.

It was discovered that the man had been rescued from a multi-day grizzly bear attack at his remote mining claim – stating that after the bear initially attacked, it continued to come back to the shack each night in an attempt to “finish him off”. Although he did have a pistol, he was down to his last two rounds of ammunition and likely wouldn’t have lasted too much longer if the bear continued its pursuit.

The man reported that he was dragged down to a nearby river in the initial fight, and that he hadn’t slept in days while fending off the bear. He suffered injuries to his leg and torso, which made it difficult to escape for help. Although the man’s identity is being kept private, it was reported that he is in his late 50’s or early 60’s, and had been alone at the mining claim since July 12th with no phone service. He was reported missing by his friends a few days prior after failing to return to Nome, Alaska at his expected time.

It’s uncommon for helicopters to be flagged down for help in this remote part of Alaska, and Coast Guard Commander Carbajal, who aided with the rescue, said that “if (they) would have been in the next valley over, (they) would have totally missed him”.

Although grizzly bears are common in the area, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard in Alaska said it’s unusual for a person to be harassed by a bear in this way. In fact, only 68 people were hospitalized for injuries resulting from a bear attack in Alaska between 2010-2017, and of those hospitalized, ten had died.

According to the Coast Guard, this tragic encounter serves as a reminder to always carry some form of emergency beacon or satellite phone when spending time in remote wilderness areas.

The victim was flown by the coast guard to a hospital in Nome, Alaska to be treated for his injuries, and he is expected to survive.

[Dead Corpse]

.400 H&H Howda pistol.

[fso301]

only 68 people were hospitalized for injuries resulting from a bear attack in Alaska between 2010-2017

68 were hospitalized while the rest were eaten.

[dangus]

Every studio: DIBS ON MOVIE RIGHTS!!!

[DuncanWaring]

[x]

Was it really a battle or just one of those Leonardo DiCaprio situations?

[null and void]

There’s been a follow-up story to this. It is now believed that he crashed his ATV in the river, couldn’t restart it, and made up the whole bear story because he was embarrassed by the real story.

"The victim had severe leg injuries, ... He suffered injuries to his leg and torso,..."

Yep, that's consistent with driving an ATV into water.

Some people simply can't imagine that Yogi or Baloo will kill and eat them given a chance.

Does the name Timothy Treadwell ring a bell?

[PeterPrinciple]

When they stomped around in the muddy terrain in the area, they found no bear tracks, no hair and no bear scat, ie. crap. And bears crap a lot.

---

from the article

[Reeses]

I do believe the ATV story. I’ve never heard of a bear hunting a human over a number of days. That seems pretty far-fetched.

A tiger will keep coming back. It knows if it injured something, it will be dinner soon enough.

[PGR88]

A friend of mine and his Dad hunt in Montana, and besides the 30-06 for the elk and deer, they each carry a 10mm in case a bear gets aggressive.

[Little Ray]

He had a pistol? In bear country?
A .44 mag or larger might have discouraged a bear, but what he really needed was a shotgun firing slugs!

[bgill]

Exactly. That’s not the human’s kitchen, it’s the bear’s.

[cpdiii]

AR10 7.62-51 (308). 20 Rounds of semi-auto grief and death. That is what he needed.

[USS Alaska]

is in his late 50’s or early 60’s,

The dude was 74 and has been lying all of his life, no bear, the dude ran is ATV into the river and was embarrassed.

He invented a bullshit story, no 'reporter' originally checked and another jussie smolett story began.

[Wuli]

The bear was a really smart bear. He saw the man as but one human that would be multiplied if the man felt safe enough, and that would gradually mean loss of the bear’s habitat. Oh, or maybe he was just one mad bear!!!!

[eastsider]

He was reported missing by his friends a few days prior after failing to return to Nome, Alaska at his expected time.

‘People would rather live in Nome regardless of its grayness. There is no place like Nome.’

[OrangeHoof]

He’s taken a savage beating but he was still able to climb onto the roof and etch large letters on his metal roof that could be seen from the sky.

hmmmm.

[karnage]

Oh my.

[mad_as_he$$]

Sounds more plausible that a multi-day/night grizzly attack.

[mad_as_he$$]

Sounds more plausible that a multi-day/night grizzly attack.

[lurk]

I talked to a guide who shot a bear in the face. He was in the second story loft of the hunting cabin when Mr Bear stuck his head in the window and tried to grab him. There’s a couple of pints of adrenaline squished into your system for the next few hours.