Patrick Cooper had already turned around after reaching the halfway point in a popular mountain race in Alaska when he somehow veered off the trail and became lost. That's when the 16-year-old Anchorage boy encountered the black bear that would take his life in a rare predatory attack.

Cooper began running, and at one point he reportedly placed a frantic call to his brother, saying he was being chased by a bear Sunday in the Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb race south of Anchorage. The brother notified race director Brad Precosky, who alerted race crews to begin searching for Cooper, known as Jack.

It took a couple hours for responders to locate the teen, whose body was found about a mile up the path, at about 1,500 vertical feet (457 vertical meters). The bear was found at the site, guarding the body, Precosky said.

A Chugach State Park ranger shot the 250-pound (113-kilogram) bear in the face, but the animal ran away.

Alaska State Troopers said the boy's remains were airlifted from the scene on Sunday.

State park staffers were scouring the area Monday looking for the bear, state Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said. Sunday's attack was believed to have been a rare predatory move, not a defensive action such as when a female bear will protect her cubs, he said.

"It's very unusual," Marsh said of the mauling. "It's sort of like someone being struck by lightning."

Later Monday, a second fatal mauling at the hands of a black bear was reported nearly 300 miles northeast of Anchorage. Officials with an underground gold mine reported a contract employee hired to take geological samples was killed and another injured in a black bear attack.

No names have been released. Alaska State Troopers and federal mine officials are investigating the mauling at Pogo Mine.

Matt Wedeking, division operations manager with Alaska State Parks, said the predatory behavior of the bear in the attack on the teen was not normal. Asked if there were cubs around this black bear, he said, "We don't know. There could have been. But right now I don't have any information about the bear."

The last fatal mauling in the state occurred near Delta Junction in Alaska's interior in 2013, when a man was killed by a male black bear, Marsh said. The last fatal bear attack in the greater Anchorage area was in 1995, when two people were killed in the Turnagain Arm area by a brown bear protecting a moose carcass, he said.

Last week, a juvenile and two young adults sustained minor injuries when a female brown bear with two cubs attacked them. Authorities shot at that bear, but it ran off.

Areas where wilderness races such as Sunday's take place are inherently risky when it comes to bear encounters, Precosky said. Competitors in the Bird Ridge race sign a liability waiver as part of the registration process.

But competitors often train alone in such areas and are fully aware of the dangers. Races actually can be said to cut down on the risk of a bear encounter because so many people are there, making noise and making their presence known, Precosky said. "There's no safer time to be on a mountain than on a race," he said.

Earlier reports say Cooper texted his mother that he was being chased by the bear, but Precosky said he could not confirm that.

———

Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.

———

Follow Rachel D'Oro at https://twitter.com/rdoro</s>ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Experts say back-to-back fatal maulings of people by black bears in Alaska appear to be flukes by rogue bears but warn that people venturing into bear habitat should always carry bear repellent spray or guns.

In the first attack, a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner Sunday who got lost competing in a mountain race south of Anchorage.

On Monday, a man working at a remote gold exploration site was mauled to death. A second worker was injured by the same black bear.

Retired state bear biologist John Hechtel tracked Alaska’s fatal bear maulings between 1980 and 2014 and counted only three fatal maulings by black bears.

There were 15 killings of people by brown or grizzly bears during the same period and one fatal mauling by a polar bear.</s>ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Experts say back-to-back fatal maulings of people by black bears in Alaska appear to be flukes by rogue bears but warn that people venturing into bear habitat should always carry bear repellent spray or guns.

In the first attack, a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner Sunday who got lost competing in a mountain race south of Anchorage.

On Monday, a man working at a remote gold exploration site was mauled to death. A second worker was injured by the same black bear.

Retired state bear biologist John Hechtel tracked Alaska's fatal bear maulings between 1980 and 2014 and counted three only fatal maulings by black bears.

There were 15 killings of people by brown or grizzly bears during the same period and one fatal mauling by a polar bear.

A jogger runs across the Sterling Highway from the Bird Creek access point, near a trail head that's closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing in an Alaska race on Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)</s>(WTNH) — Two bear attacks turned deadly in two parts of Alaska.

Officials say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing in a mountain race over the weekend.

Organizers say Patrick Cooper was mauled after he got lost and veered off the trail in Anchorage.

Authorities say Cooper called his brother and told him he was being chased by the bear.

State Troopers found the teenager’s body about a mile up the path with the bear guarding it.

The animal was shot twice, but ran off.

“We know the bear was hit because we found blood. We don’t know how hard it was hit. If it was a graze…if it was not a mortal hit or the very debilitating hit on the bear, it could’ve traveled for miles,” said Dave Battle of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The second attack was 300 miles northeast of Anchorage. A contract employee for an underground gold mine was taking geological samples when he was attacked and killed by a black bear.</s>ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Back-to-back fatal maulings of people by black bears in Alaska appear to be flukes by rogue animals, experts said Tuesday. But they warn that people venturing into bear habitat should always carry repellent spray or guns.

In the first attack, a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner Sunday who got lost competing in a mountain race south of Anchorage. On Monday, a man working at a remote gold exploration site several hundred miles away was mauled to death. A second worker was injured by the same black bear.

Such predatory maulings by black bears are extremely rare, akin to being struck by lightning, state Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said.

"To have two in two days is an anomaly," he said. "It just doesn't happen."

Attacks by brown or grizzly bears are far more common, particularly in defensive actions such as when a female bear is protecting her cubs, experts said.

Now-retired state bear biologist John Hechtel tracked Alaska's fatal bear maulings between 1980 and 2014 and counted only three fatal maulings by black bears. There were 15 killings of people by brown or grizzly bears during the same period and one fatal mauling by a polar bear.

Hechtel said he can't say why the most recent black bear attacks occurred, given so much remains unknown. But he doesn't believe it points to any kind of trend.

"I think it's just a coincidence," he said. "It does't necessarily mean there's anything related."

The best against bear attacks, say Hechtel and others, is for people who head into Alaska's back country to carry bear repellant or guns with them. Hechtel is an advocate for carrying bear repellant, however, saying it's a safer alternative than guns for people who aren't sharpshooters.

A black bear began stalking him at Blackerby Ridge near town, coming within 30 feet of him. Then a running partner joined him, and the two made it out together. They ended up warning four arriving hikers, hiking back with them to point out the bear. The animal then began approaching the group of six, and that's when they decided to leave the mountain.

Lesh said this week's deaths are a key topic of conversation among Juneau runners. "It hits home," he said.

But he quickly added he will not give up running in the wilderness. "These are low-probability events," Lesh said.</s>(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A jogger runs across the Sterling Highway from the Bird Creek access point, near a trail head that's closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black...

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A sign warns people that the trail head is closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing i...

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A sign warns people that the trail head is closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing i...

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A sign warns people that the trail head is closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing i...

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A sign warns people that the trail head is closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing i...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Experts say back-to-back fatal maulings of people by black bears in Alaska appear to be flukes by rogue bears but warn that people venturing into bear habitat should always carry bear repellent spray or guns.

In the first attack, a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner Sunday who got lost competing in a mountain race south of Anchorage.

On Monday, a man working at a remote gold exploration site was mauled to death. A second worker was injured by the same black bear.

Retired state bear biologist John Hechtel tracked Alaska's fatal bear maulings between 1980 and 2014 and counted only three fatal maulings by black bears.

There were 15 killings of people by brown or grizzly bears during the same period and one fatal mauling by a polar bear.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>(CNN) — Two Alaska towns are reeling after separate bear attacks claimed two lives in a span of just two days.

The first attack happened on Sunday during a mountain race at Chugach State Park southeast of Anchorage. Sixteen-year-old Patrick Cooper was participating in the Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb, which takes place in a thickly wooded area.

According to CNN affiliate KTUU, the teen got separated from a group after the race and then texted his family to say he was being chased by a bear. His mother and siblings also participated in the race, and Anchorage Police said runners stopped in their tracks to help locate Cooper once they heard he was in danger.

The Anchorage police and fire departments, Alaska state troopers and the National Guard all joined in the search. They eventually found Cooper’s body being guarded by a large black bear.

Alaska Daily News reported a park ranger shot the bear, but it retreated and rangers are still searching for it.

“This young man didn’t do anything wrong. He was just in the wrong place,” Chugach State Park Ranger Tom Crockett told the newspaper. “You can’t predict which bear is going to be predatory.”

A mine contractor was attacked on the job

Monday morning marked the second incident, when two contract employees with the Pogo Mine were mauled near Delta Junction, Alaska. The employees were collecting geological samples at an exploration site several miles from the mine’s main camp when they were attacked. One employee was injured, and the other was killed.

“Right now we have more questions than answers. Everyone on site is concerned for those involved,” Chris Kennedy, general manager at Pogo Mine told CNN affiliate KTVA.

The bear involved in the attack was killed.

According to the National Park Service, bears are most active in the spring and summer months. They’re about to enter mating season, which begins in July.</s>(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A sign warns people that the trail head is closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing i...

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A sign warns people that the trail head is closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing i...

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A jogger runs across the Sterling Highway from the Bird Creek access point, near a trail head that's closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black...

(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). A sign warns people that the trail head is closed on Monday, June 19, 2017, after a fatal bear mauling at Bird Ridge Trail in Anchorage, Alaska. Authorities say a black bear killed a 16-year-old runner while he was competing i...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Patrick Cooper had already turned around after reaching the halfway point in a popular mountain race in Alaska when he somehow veered off the trail and became lost. That's when the 16-year-old Anchorage boy encountered the black bear that would take his life in a rare predatory attack.

Cooper began running, and at one point he reportedly placed a frantic call to his brother, saying he was being chased by a bear Sunday in the Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb race south of Anchorage. The brother notified race director Brad Precosky, who alerted race crews to begin searching for Cooper, known as Jack.

It took a couple hours for responders to locate the teen, whose body was found about a mile up the path, at about 1,500 vertical feet (457 vertical meters). The bear was found at the site, guarding the body, Precosky said.

A Chugach State Park ranger shot the 250-pound (113-kilogram) bear in the face, but the animal ran away.

Alaska State Troopers said the boy's remains were airlifted from the scene on Sunday.

State park staffers were scouring the area Monday looking for the bear, state Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said. Sunday's attack was believed to have been a rare predatory move, not a defensive action such as when a female bear will protect her cubs, he said.

"It's very unusual," Marsh said of the mauling. "It's sort of like someone being struck by lightning."

Later Monday, a second fatal mauling at the hands of a black bear was reported nearly 300 miles northeast of Anchorage. Officials with an underground gold mine reported a contract employee hired to take geological samples was killed and another injured in a black bear attack.

No names have been released. Alaska State Troopers and federal mine officials are investigating the mauling at Pogo Mine.

Matt Wedeking, division operations manager with Alaska State Parks, said the predatory behavior of the bear in the attack on the teen was not normal. Asked if there were cubs around this black bear, he said, "We don't know. There could have been. But right now I don't have any information about the bear."

The last fatal mauling in the state occurred near Delta Junction in Alaska's interior in 2013, when a man was killed by a male black bear, Marsh said. The last fatal bear attack in the greater Anchorage area was in 1995, when two people were killed in the Turnagain Arm area by a brown bear protecting a moose carcass, he said.

Last week, a juvenile and two young adults sustained minor injuries when a female brown bear with two cubs attacked them. Authorities shot at that bear, but it ran off.

Areas where wilderness races such as Sunday's take place are inherently risky when it comes to bear encounters, Precosky said. Competitors in the Bird Ridge race sign a liability waiver as part of the registration process.

But competitors often train alone in such areas and are fully aware of the dangers. Races actually can be said to cut down on the risk of a bear encounter because so many people are there, making noise and making their presence known, Precosky said. "There's no safer time to be on a mountain than on a race," he said.

Earlier reports say Cooper texted his mother that he was being chased by the bear, but Precosky said he could not confirm that.

Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Patrick Cooper had already turned around after reaching the halfway point in a popular mountain race in Alaska when he somehow veered off the trail and became lost.

That’s when the 16-year-old Anchorage boy encountered the black bear that would take his life in a rare predatory attack.

Cooper began running, and at one point he reportedly placed a frantic call to his brother, saying he was being chased by a bear Sunday in the Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb race south of Anchorage. The brother notified race director Brad Precosky, who alerted race crews to begin searching for Cooper, known as Jack.

It took a couple hours for responders to locate the teen, whose body was found about a mile up the path, at about 1,500 vertical feet (457 vertical meters). The bear was found at the site, guarding the body, Precosky said.

A Chugach State Park ranger shot the 250-pound (113-kilogram) bear in the face, but the animal ran away.

READ MORE: Black bear trapped in Squamish after couple attacked in their backyard

Alaska State Troopers said the boy’s remains were airlifted from the scene on Sunday.

State park staffers were scouring the area Monday looking for the bear, state Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said. Sunday’s attack was believed to have been a rare predatory move, not a defensive action such as when a female bear will protect her cubs, he said.

“It’s very unusual,” Marsh said of the mauling.

Later Monday, a second fatal mauling at the hands of a black bear was reported nearly 300 miles northeast of Anchorage. Officials with an underground gold mine reported a contract employee hired to take geological samples was killed and another injured in a black bear attack.

No names have been released. Alaska State Troopers and federal mine officials are investigating the mauling at Pogo Mine.

Matt Wedeking, division operations manager with Alaska State Parks, said the predatory behavior of the bear in the attack on the teen was not normal. Asked if there were cubs around this black bear, he said, “We don’t know. There could have been. But right now I don’t have any information about the bear.”

The last fatal mauling in the state occurred near Delta Junction in Alaska’s interior in 2013, when a man was killed by a male black bear, Marsh said. The last fatal bear attack in the greater Anchorage area was in 1995, when two people were killed in the Turnagain Arm area by a brown bear protecting a moose carcass, he said.</s>Bowhunting.net Brings You Regular Updates Direct From Cindy Lavender At Her Alaska Bear Camp.

Last month Cindy Lavender and Steve came down to bowhunt wild hogs with me (Robert Hoague) and the Duck. I knew that Cindy is an avid bear bowhunter and bowhunts them in Canada and Alaska. When I inquired if she was going this year she replied that her and Steve were leaving in early June for Alaska and she was bowhunting for the big one, an Alaskan Brown Bear.

That gave me an idea, but I held off until after we hunted. I know Cindy from the ATA Trade Shows as well as being a writer for Bowhunting.net. Cindy got a wild hog on that hunt and I observed that she was a very good shot and an accomplished bowhunter.

So I sprung my idea on her, could we cover her upcoming Brown Bear hunt on Bowhunting.net with online updates as her hunt developed? She was receptive and we cobbled together a plan to get that done.

Cindy would use a satellite phone and make regular updates from the actual hunt and any place she went while on this adventure.

So, on June 3rd she arrived in Anchorage, Alaska. Once there her and Steve ate at my favorite place in Anchorage, Gwennie’s Old Alaska Restaurant.

I also received a pic of of this year’s menu.

I don’t know what Cindy or Steve ordered but I’d have gone with my favorite, Reindeer Sausage & Eggs (4 sunny side up), Biscuits and Gravy (full order) with both home fries and grits and if I felt hungry enough I would also order the Crab Benedict.

On June 4th our two Alaskan Bear hunters boarded a Beaver pontoon plane to fly to their Bear Camp.

This is Steve in the plane waiting for take off.

And here is Cindy Lavender 40 minutes NW of Anchorage by float plane (a Dehavillind Beaver loaded to the gills) at Sportsmans Air Service outfitter.

Day One Of The Bear Hunt

Cindy hunted from a treestand in active bear country with both Black Bears and Brown Bears. Game Camera pictures show that Brown Bears are in this area as well as multiple Black Bears. Today Cindy saw a few Black Bears.

Later I received a Satellite text that Cindy was heading out for the next day’s bear hunt. She commented that the latest game camera pics showed there was a monster Black Bear boar in the area, and Cindy has a Black Bear license too, maybe she will see this brute.
Two people are attacked and killed by black bears, in separate incidents in Alaska, following a rise in bear attacks in that state.