A newly released Pathology report, obtained by Mountain Messanger confirms the gruesome death of a Downieville woman first believed to have been mauled postmortem by a black in her home.
In November, the Sierra County Sheriff’s office shared that Patrice Miller was found dead in her home after a welfare check was requested by the sheriff’s office as she had not been seen or heard from in several days. At arrival, deputies discovered 71-year-old Patrice deceased. The initial investigation indicated that she died before the bear’s involvement.”
Yet pathology reports from the Placer County Coroner say differently, that Patrice’s death happened after the bear entered her home and mauled her. There has never been a recorded case of such a thing occurring in the state of California.
These details follow a recent aggressive bear encounter in Downieville this past week. A bear terrorized homes throughout town, entering houses while occupied and even entering school grounds while children were present. The shierffs office was able to declare the bear a public safety risk and kill it.
The Sheriff advises you to report all bear encounters to the Sheriff’s Office at (530) 289-3700 so an accurate profile of local bears can be tracked. After reporting to the Sheriff’s office, Fisher suggests calling the Wildlife Conflict Hotline at (916) 358-2917.
