It might have taken some finger pointing and a whole lot of red tape, but California’s first case of death by black bear has now officially been confirmed. The incident, which took place back in November of last year, was shrouded with confusion, ineptitude and a rather large mis-diagnosis when it comes to the cause of death.

Last November, 71-year-old Patrice Miller was mauled to death inside her own home and although the bear was eventually trapped and euthanized, it took officials until May of this year to confirm whether they had killed the correct bear. Recent reports indicated that this was the result of significant miscommunication between local law enforcement and California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. In what was later referred to as “bureaucratic problems” by the sheriff’s office, these issues took the case down a twisted path that resulted in a ton of confusion regarding the unfortunate death.

“Upon showing up, [deputies] immediately saw evidence of bear intrusion into the house. The door was broken. There was bear scat on the porch,” Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher told KCRA News, referring to the welfare check at Miller’s home. He went on to explain that Miller hadn’t been seen in a few days.

“It appeared that the bear had probably been there several days and had been feeding on the remains,” Fisher later said.

According to a Facebook post made by the sheriff’s office on November 14th, it seemed as though officials were under the impression that Miller was already dead when the bear was attracted to her home based on “the scent or other factors.” But Sheriff Fisher wasn’t convinced, and continued his investigation as though the bear had been responsible for Patrice Miller’s death.

The phone calls continued to pour into Fisher’s office, prompting him to reach out to CDFW for assistance. He was met, instead, with resistance. The sheriff then requested the authority to euthanize the bear using a state-issued depredation permit. CDFW responded, denying his request for a tag citing the fact that the request had to come from the tenant or property owner.

“I had to relay several times that this individual was deceased and had been eaten by a bear,” Fisher said.

Eventually, a deputy determined that the victim had been renting and was able to secure a tag to euthanize the animal, kicking off the next round of the mishaps surrounding this unique case. 

Once officials were able to get a trap out to the site, they were successful in trapping a bear within a couple of days, but argued with Fisher and SCSO deputies that they had captured the wrong bear. It had been previously determined that a male bear was the culprit in the case, but CDFW officials were claiming that the bear they had in ‘custody’ was a female based solely on the animal’s appearance. Refusing to “lift the animal’s leg” to confirm their suspicions, CDFW became adamant about releasing the captured bruin, forcing Fisher to take a stand.

“I told the trapper I was seizing his trap and seizing the bear, and we placed a padlock on the bear trap,” Fisher said.

Miller then demanded that a more thorough examination of the bear be performed before Fish and Wildlife released the animal or he would alert a local news outlet about the mismanagement of the case.

A biologist eventually landed on the scene and was able to confirm what Fisher had suspected; that they had indeed trapped a male bear and the one believed to be responsible for the death of Patrice Miller.

After the bear was killed, the case action started to cool off along with the local bear activity. As the winter months set in, all was quiet on the western front until the results from Miller’s autopsy were ready for review.

Rather than confirming that she had died of natural causes, as originally thought, it was revealed that the victim had perished as a result of injuries consistent with a bear attack.

“Patrice had passed away due to a bear mauling or a swipe and a bite to the neck area," Sheriff Fisher said.

The morbid results highlighted the inefficiencies in which CDFW collaborates with local law enforcement with regards to nuisance bears. According to Sheriff Fisher, the additional steps, red tape, lack of communication and unwillingness to issue permits result in unnecessary risk to public safety. Rather than relying on state level wildlife officers to perform wildlife management, he feels as though too much of that responsibility is falling on the shoulders of his department.

While he has expressed his support for local game wardens and those with boots on the ground in his county and across the state, he feels as though, when it comes to dealing with bears, they drop the ball. He’s stated that he believes this to come from the higher levels within CDFW’s bureaucracy. 

The sheriff was finally able to meet with senior officials at CDFW after multiple failed attempts. While he can’t be completely sure until the next call for depredation tags is placed, he remains hopeful that this case sheds some light on the inefficiencies within the department and that collaboration will improve in the future. Shortly following that meeting, Sheriff Fisher was provided with the DNA comparison which finally proved, without a doubt, that the black bear captured and killed was the one responsible for Patrice Miller’s death. 

The incident was the first confirmed case of death by black bear in California’s history.