Black bear kills 16-year-old boy during race in Alaska
Bear in Zimmerman, Minn. (Photo credit Courtney Woodruff)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing in an Alaska race on Sunday.
Anchorage television station KTUU reports that the teenager, whose identity has not been released, was a participant in the juniors division of the Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb race between Anchorage and Girdwood.
The race director says the runner had apparently made it to the halfway point turnaround on Bird Ridge trail and was on his way down when he texted his mother that he was being chased by a bear.
Officials responded up the mountain to locate the boy, whose body was found about a mile up the path, at about 1,500 vertical feet.
Alaska State Troopers said Sunday that the boy's remains were airlifted from the scene.
A park ranger shot the 250-pound bear in the face, but it ran away.