Yukon Woman And Her Ten Month Old Are Dead From Bear Attack
BY Herschel Smith
6 years ago
From several of you, news from Canada:
A Yukon woman and her 10-month-old daughter are dead after a bear attack at a remote cabin, the territory’s coroner said.
In a news release, Yukon’s coroner said the bodies of 37-year-old Valérie Théorêt, and her daughter Adele Roesholt were discovered by the child’s father at around 3 p.m. on Monday.
According to coroner Heather Jones, the two had been alone at the cabin when the attack happened.
“It appears they had been out for a walk when the incident occurred, sometime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.,” the coroner’s news release said.
Théorêt, originally from Quebec, was on maternity leave from her job teaching Grade 6 French immersion at Whitehorse Elementary School. She and her partner, Gjermund Roesholt, and their daughter had been trapping at Einarson Lake for the last three months, the coroner said.
Einarson Lake is located more than 400 km northeast of Whitehorse, near the border between Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
Roesholt was away from the cabin on the family’s trapline when the attack occurred, Jones said. He came back just before 3 p.m. and was immediately charged by a grizzly bear, about 100 metres from the cabin.
Roesholt managed to shoot the bear, killing it. He then went to the cabin, where he found the bodies of his partner and child outside.
He used an emergency beacon device to call for help.
That call went to RCMP in Mayo, a village of 200 people and the closest settlement to the cabin. It also went to friends of the couple.
[ … ]
Beaupré said the couple bought their remote trapline about three years ago, and tried to spend as much time as they could in the wilderness. They were avid outdoors people with lots of experience, he said.
“They were, I’m 100 per cent sure, well-prepared for anything that could have happened. But, you never know.”
This sounds like a horrible and messy affair. Either the bear caught them near the cabin with the woman unarmed, or actually invaded the cabin and took them out.
Just horrible.
I guess the moral of the story is that being prepared in this neck of the woods means always having a firearm on your person. Not ten feet away, or in the next room, or in the safe. But on your person at the ready.
On November 29, 2018 at 11:51 pm, Mark Cancemi said:
Lots of discussion about “which caliber”, and “how big of a gun” one should have in bear country (black AND brown/grizzly). I have read MANY articles and opinions about this, and would appreciate your input as I respect your opinion on most matters. Thank you in advance.
On November 30, 2018 at 2:51 pm, 41mag said:
Guy from my church went fishing in Alaska with a group of guys. They carried 9mm’s. They asked an AK State trooper if that was enough gun for bear defense.
His response: “If you all stood shoulder to shoulder and shot in unison, you’d make him angry”.
Magnum-size for the win.
On November 30, 2018 at 3:39 pm, BRVTVS said:
The Forestry Service did a study on bear defense calibers. The report can be found here: https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr152.pdf
On November 30, 2018 at 4:39 pm, TheAlaskan said:
Sad story. And remember, handguns are severely restricted in Canada. As a matter of fact, ALL auto-loading guns are severely restricted in Canada.
So, “always having a firearm on your person” can be problematic in the legal sense. Gun laws in Canada are getting people killed.
On November 30, 2018 at 5:18 pm, Fred said:
Mark, although you didn’t ask me, and not that you anybody cares, here’s what I think.
I’m frustrated by the ‘what caliber for bear’ argument. Keep in mind that Self Defense is NOT hunting. In hunting you kill with one shot because this is honorable. In self defense you want the attacker to disengage. The honor is in surviving.
In citizen on citizen gun fights, first shot landed wins well above 99 percent of the time.
A cougar will disengage upon first shot landed as well. They have singleness of focus when striking. Often the noise alone would snap them out of this state but do hit the animal. They use stealth and speed but similar to a human they are very averse to any competent defense.
A bear is NOT a person and Not a cat. This is an entirely different situation. Remember, you want the animal to disengage. Penetration is not a bad thing BUT you want to get the animals attention. 44fps, I’ll spell that out for everybody including the “.357 for bear” fanboys; Forty Four Feet Per Second is how fast a bear moves. You need its full and undivided attention with the FIRST SHOT. If your plan is to kill a 600 pound, heavy hide, well-muscled beast moving at 44fps with one shot then you most definitely need a new plan. The shock of Blunt Force Trauma that penetrates somewhat is what you want. Size matters, not velocity. Somebody is going to get killed trying to shoot a bear with a fast small round and it won’t be on me. You get ONE SHOT to convince the attacker to break off the engagement. You’ve been warned. Hunting, is not Self Defense.
I would recommend to go to you tube and a watch a wild Brown take a deer. The grocery store shelves have been full for a century now. We don’t understand hunger. I’m not sure the level preparation needed for such an encounter as that with a motivated bear.
Have a nice weekend.
On November 30, 2018 at 9:34 pm, BRVTVS said:
The case of “Old Groaner” is a pretty good example of the consequences of not using enough gun when facing grizzly bears. I understand the skull is still on display in Ketchikan. http://sportingclassicsdaily.com/30865-2/
On December 1, 2018 at 12:23 am, TheAlaskan said:
@ BRVTVS @ 3:39 pm
Go figure. My three bush guns are a 375 H&H, a .44 magnum, and a 12 gauge. Most of us old timers know all about those nasty bears. And did I ever say “I hate bears?”
I hate bears.
I pray for this poor father; a father, like me. A Yukoner and a bushman; a bushman, like me.
May God ease his sorrow.
On December 1, 2018 at 6:01 am, Dan said:
A couple months ago an experienced hunting guide was killed in Wyoming because he got complacent. He had a 10mm semiauto handgun with him but NOT ON HIS PERSON while dressing out an animal. When a grizzly showed up and attacked him he was killed. His client was unfamiliar with the weapon and unable to make proper use of it. Because this experienced man got complacent for ONE DAY he died. We must remember that we are NOT at the top of the food chain and without our cleverly invented weapons nothing but a snack for the true predators.