California Woman Killed in Her Home by Black Bear

AmmoLand ^ | June 13, 2024 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

On November 8, 2023, the Sierra County Sheriff’s deputies performed a welfare check on 71-year-old Patrice Miller at her home in Downieville, California. At the house rented by Miller, they found a gruesome scene. The door had been broken in, and there was bear scat on the porch. What was left of Miller’s body was inside. The bear had been feeding on it for several days. California has a rapidly growing bear population and rapidly increasing numbers of bear-human conflicts.

Downieville is a small village at the confluence of the Yuba and North Downie rivers, 54 miles west of Reno, Nevada. It is home to about 325 people and was founded during the gold rush in the 1850s. At its peak, the population was over 5,000. It is wild country, and the town makes most of its income from tourism.

Downieville is the county seat for Sierra County. The Sierra County Sheriff is Mike Fisher. Patrice Miller’s home was a short walk from Sheriff Fisher’s office.

Once Sheriff Fisher determined a bear had been feeding on a human body, he asked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to issue a depredation permit so the bear could be legally trapped. CDFW refused to issue a permit. They said the request had to come from the house’s resident.

From the mountainmessinger.org:

CDFW told Fisher that the depredation permit had to be requested by the house’s resident despite the fact that the resident was deceased and that the Sheriff’s Office could not make a request on its own. The homeowner eventually was able to issue a request, after which the permit was issued, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture trapper was called.

[marktwain]

California has overprotected bears. They have an increasing bear population, increasing breakins by bears into homes, and now, the first documented fatality where a black bear killed a person and it was officially documented.

[marktwain]

Link to video.

[Responsibility2nd]

A BLACK bear did this?

Must have had a good reason. Release him on a no bail bond.

[wildcard_redneck]

Now do that 39 million more times.

[ClearCase_guy]

They said the request had to come from the house’s resident.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.

[marktwain]

Bear which killed and ate woman in trap in California.

[Red Badger]

We have the same problem in Florida. We protected black bears for so long they have become nuisance bears and are getting into towns garbage cans and peoples homes.........

[SuperLuminal]

Bureaucracy kills...
It always has...
It always will...

[metmom]

Once Sheriff Fisher determined a bear had been feeding on a human body, he asked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to issue a depredation permit so the bear could be legally trapped. CDFW refused to issue a permit. They said the request had to come from the house’s resident.

Evil sand insanity rule the day in CA.

If killing and eating the owner doesn't qualify to have the bear trapped or killed, then nothing does.

Did it occur to them that the owner COULDN'T request the permit?????

Idiots.

[FlingWingFlyer]

I don’t think this is just a coinkydink that it happened on “Gruesome Newsom’s watch.”

[17th Miss Regt]

Repawrations!

[No name given]

It needs to be wiped from the face of the earth once and for all.

[Responsibility2nd]

Boo! I can BEARLY believe you said that.

[LouAvul]

I have to wonder if the lady had been feeding the bear? Did she have the back door open with the exception of the storm door?

There might be more to the story.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

It us Ray-zist to identify the race of the bear.

[Marko413]

Bears are just a continuation of California habits on dangerous predators. They did the same with cougars decades ago in SoCal. Didn’t take long for stories surfacing of lone hikers and joggers getting killed. The cougars tended to eat a few major organs and leave the rest.

[Vaduz]

Place order for bear rugs now while they last.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

Bureaucracy kills...
It always has...
It always will...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Well done!

[Lockbar]

Is it them, Yogi?

[9YearLurker]

“Once Sheriff Fisher determined a bear had been feeding on a human body, he asked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to issue a depredation permit so the bear could be legally trapped. CDFW refused to issue a permit. They said the request had to come from the house’s resident.”

Classic.