![]() ![]() The bear was emaciated and was also found to have glass in its gums. Two rangers shot a bear at a ranger station near Trout Lake on August 14 a postmortem examination of the stomach contents conclusively identified it as the bear that had killed Koons. In total, four bears were shot and killed by Monday, August 14 the first two, which had become habituated to rummage through the Granite Park Chalet trash, were killed on August 13. On orders from park management, rangers were armed and told to shoot any bear they found at Trout Lake and Granite Park Chalet. The frightened campers stayed in the trees for more than two hours and ran to the nearest ranger station at dawn, where they reported the attack. One camper awoke with the bear sniffing her sleeping bag, but remained still and the bear moved on when the bear was investigating Koons, Koons woke and screamed the other four campers were able to escape by climbing trees, but the zipper on Koons's sleeping bag was stuck and the bear dragged her approximately 300 feet (91 m) away from the campsite. That area was known to be the territory of a sow bear that fed on garbage at Kelly's Camp, a privately-owned facility that predated the establishment of the park, nearby at the north end of Lake McDonald the bear was characterized as "not quite right" and had previously chased a group of Girl Scouts the week prior to the attacks. The second attack was reported around 4 AM at Trout Lake Koons had gone camping there with four friends, and all five worked at the Lake McDonald Lodge. Although she was eventually found alive 400 feet (120 m) from their original campsite, she later died of her wounds at the Chalet. When the bear turned away from Ducat to Helgeson, he ran to a nearby group of campers for help the bear dragged Helgeson into the woods as she screamed. ![]() Ducat was awakened by Helgeson, who whispered a bear was nearby and they should stay as still as possible despite this, the bear approached them and mauled them both. Their campsite was close to the trail established by bears feeding on the Chalet's garbage. Helgeson was camping with her boyfriend Roy Ducat approximately 1⁄ 4 mile (0.40 km) away from the Chalet both Helgeson and Ducat were employed by the Glacier Park Lodge. ![]() The first attack was reported around midnight at the Granite Park Chalet. : 48 Other experts thought the bears may have mistaken the sleeping bags for food containers. The night of August 12–13 was marked by lightning, which led some to speculate the bears were agitated by the stormy weather. ![]()
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