A mother and daughter have died after a suspected grizzly bear attack in the Canadian province of British Columbia, their family has announced.
The victims have been identified as 48-year-old Jennifer Balcarras and her 20-year-old daughter, Selah Reed. The pair was reported missing on November 1st after failing to return from what was intended to be a brief afternoon walk, as confirmed by their family.
Their remains were subsequently discovered in a trail area within the Bella Coola region. The BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) indicated that evidence collected at the scene suggested an animal may have been involved in the incident.
Conservation officers are currently actively working to locate and identify any bears potentially involved in the attack.
Balcarras’s remains were recovered on Monday, while Reed’s were found on Tuesday, during joint search and recovery operations conducted by conservation officers and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Jeff Tyre, an inspector with the BCCOS, stated that it remains unclear whether more than one bear was potentially involved in the tragic deaths of the two women.
He further noted that any captured bear would undergo assessment. If determined to have been involved in the attack, the animal would be euthanized in accordance with provincial human-wildlife conflict response guidelines to ensure public safety.
Describing the close bond between the two, Balcarras’s brother, Josh Balcarras, told CBC that they were “two peas in a pod,” got along exceptionally well, and shared many common hobbies.
“When Jenny went hiking, Selah was right there beside her,” he recalled.
According to an online fundraising campaign established to assist the family with funeral expenses, Balcarras had recently relocated to Bella Coola to embark on a new career and start a fresh chapter in her life.
Under federal legislation, grizzly bears are classified as a species of “special concern.” According to Environmental Reporting BC, they also represent a vital component of the British Columbia landscape.
The province’s Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks estimates that between 10,000 and 13,000 grizzly bears reside within British Columbia, a species classified as vulnerable by the ministry.
Ministry officials note that conflicts between bears and humans are considered “relatively rare,” typically occurring only when the animals are startled or are protecting their cubs or food sources.
However, British Columbia has experienced a number of bear-related attacks in recent years.
In October 2025, a grizzly bear attacked two hikers in the McGregor Mountain area, resulting in one fatality from critical injuries; the bear was subsequently found dead.
The subsequent month, a bear attacked a school group in the same Bella Coola area, injuring eleven individuals.
The BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF) has suggested that reports of grizzly-human conflicts have increased since the province implemented a ban on sport hunting of grizzly bears in 2017.
“With the absence of hunting pressure, grizzlies and humans will increasingly occupy the same spaces, leading to inevitable consequences,” Jesse Zeman, executive director of the BCWF, stated at the time.
