One dead, one missing in suspected grizzly bear attack near Bella Coola, B.C.

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BELLA COOLA — One person is dead and another is missing after a suspected grizzly bear attack near Bella Coola, B.C., a year after an attack on a group of schoolchildren in the same community.

The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said the remains of one person were found in the west trail area of the Snooka trail system on Monday, while a search continued for the second person, the service said on Tuesday.

It said family members had reported the pair missing on Sunday.

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.

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 most recent 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 last year that it happened on a trail near Highway 20.

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

Tyre said people are urged 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.

The Conservation Officer Service said any captured bears would be assessed to determine next steps.

“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.

The Canadian Press