Missing Glacier National Park hiker found dead in apparent bear attack

A hiker who went missing in Glacier National Park was found dead on Wednesday in what officials say may be the park’s first fatal bear attack in nearly 30 years.

In a news release, the National Park Service said that search and rescue crews had discovered the hiker’s remains around noon on Wednesday, May 6, about 2.5 miles up the Mt. Brown Trail. The hiker’s body was about 50 feet off the trail in a patch of dense forest and downed trees. He had sustained injuries “consistent with a bear attack,” the park service said.

Officially, the deceased hiker remains unidentified; the NPS said that the agency would withhold his name until 72 hours after the hiker’s family had been notified. On Tuesday, however, park officials reported that 33-year-old Anthony Pollio had gone missing in the area two days earlier. The NPS said that Pollio had told his family that he planned to hike to the Mt. Brown fire lookout, in the vicinity of where crews discovered the body.

Several trails in the area are closed while authorities investigate the incident. Besides the 10-mile Mt. Brown Trail, trails between the Sperry Trailhead and Snyder Lake, the Sperry Chalet, and the Lincoln Lake Trail junction are all closed. The Lincoln Lake Trail is also closed between its junction with the Snyder Ridge Trail and Lincoln Lake.

If confirmed, this week’s death would be the first fatal bear attack to occur in the park since 1998, when a grizzly sow and her two cubs killed and partially consumed Craig Dahl, a park concession worker from Colorado, while he was hiking in the Two Medicine Valley. All three bears were later euthanized by the NPS. Prior to this week’s incident, bears had killed just 10 visitors in the park’s 116-year history.

This week’s fatality follows a bear attack in Yellowstone that seriously injured two hikers near the park’s famous Old Faithful geyser. The hikers, two brothers aged 15 and 28, remain hospitalized.

Staying Safe in Bear Country

Bear attacks on humans are rare, but they can be devastating when they occur. Carrying bear spray and taking precautions like hiking in a group, making noise, and avoiding areas where bears are known to be actively feeding can go a long way towards keeping you out of harm’s way. Bear researcher Tom Smith of Brigham Young University shared his best advice for staying safe with Backpacker.