Two dead in suspected grizzly bear attack near Bella Coola, B.C.

Art therapist Jenny Balcarras and her daughter were reported missing by relatives.

Kara Balcarras, who identified herself as Jenny Balcarras’s sister-in-law, issued a Facebook post about the missing pair and later updated it with the Conservation Officer Service’s statement about the apparent attack.

The post said the pair’s vehicle had been found at a trailhead near Bella Coola, located nearly 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver by road.

Insp. Jeff Tyre with the Conservation Officer Service said evidence at the scene where human remains were found suggested a bear may have been involved.

“Our thoughts are with the families of the victims during this tragic time. We are working to support the family as our investigation continues,” he said in a video statement.

The apparent attack comes nearly a year after a grizzly attacked a group of about 20 elementary school students and teachers in Bella Coola, leaving an adult and three children badly injured last November.

There was an extensive effort to catch that bear, but while several grizzlies were trapped, DNA tests showed they did not include the bear involved in that attack.

Samuel Schooner, elected chief of the Nuxalk Nation, issued a statement Tuesday saying the full circumstances of the latest suspected attack were still unfolding, but he understood “first-hand the trauma this incident will inflict upon the victims’ family members, the victims of last year’s attack, and the community at large.”

Emergency Health Services spokesman Brian Twaites said at the time of the attack a year ago that it happened on a trail near Highway 20.

A map on the Bella Coola Community Forest website shows the Snooka trail system, the site of the latest suspected attack, is just south of Highway 20.

Tyre said the Conservation Officer Service was urging people to stay away from the Snooka trails due to the potential danger and to allow officers to conduct their work.

He said efforts were underway to find and trap any bears involved.

Any captured bears would be assessed to determine next steps, the service said.

“If the bear is determined to be the bear responsible for the attack, it will be dispatched to ensure public safety, as per provincial human-wildlife conflict response guidelines,” it said in a post on social media.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2026.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Two dead in suspected grizzly bear attack near Bella Coola, B.C.

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