Anchorage, Alaska, police tweeted this notice when hiker Michael Soltis went missing. They say he was killed by a brown bear. (CNN) — A brown bear killed a hiker and mauled another man in Anchorage, Alaska, police said. Michael Soltis had been reported missing after he left his home Monday for a hike, the Anchorage Police Department said. On Wednesday, one of the people searching for Soltis was attacked by a brown bear and taken to a hospital with serious leg injuries. That man is expected to survive. After the attack, police searched for the bear in the woods. They found Soltis’ body and confirmed he died in a bear attack. “It appears the brown bear was protecting the body when it attacked a member of the search party,” the police statement said. Police were searching for the bear. The attack came a year after teen was fatally mauled by a bear in the Anchorage area during a race. Brown bears can measure almost 9 feet when standing and weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, according to the National Park Service. Alaskan brown bears are the largest. CNN’s Amanda Watts contributed to this story.<doc-sep>ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A hiker who had been missing for two days was found dead on Wednesday, the victim of a bear attack on the outskirts of Alaska’s biggest city, Anchorage police said. The body of Michael Soltis, 44, was discovered after a brown bear mauled one of the volunteers searching for the missing man, said MJ Thim of the Anchorage Police Department. The cause of Soltis’ death has not been confirmed and is still being investigated, but it appears that he was killed by the same bear that attacked the volunteer, Thim said. “What we believe is the brown bear was protecting its prey, its find, which turned out to be the body of the missing person,” he said. The initial attack happened in Eagle River, a woodsy suburb of Anchorage. Soltis, who lived near the attack site, was an avid hiker, Thim said. He was last seen late on Monday afternoon, Thim said. His body was found just off a road in the area, down a steep hill, Thim said. Officers have not yet found the bear, Thim said, but have set up a perimeter around the attack site and if the bear returns, “we’re prepared to deal with it appropriately,” he said. The injured searcher was taken to a local hospital with a leg wound and is expected to survive, Thim said. The Eagle River attack happened almost exactly a year after a 16-year-old Anchorage boy was killed by a black bear during a mountain race in Anchorage. The city, home to about 40 percent of Alaska’s population, is also habitat for bears, moose, wolves and other wild animals. Within the limits of the 1,958-square-mile (5,070-square-km) municipality there are 250 to 350 black bears and 55 to 65 brown bears, also called grizzly bears, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.<doc-sep>The 44-year-old Soltis' body was found near the end of a mountainous road filled with homes. Authorities believe the bear was protecting the body when it attacked the male searcher, who was hospitalized but is expected to survive. However, other possibilities are not being ruled out.<doc-sep>The same brown bear may have killed a hiker outside Anchorage, Alaska and later mauled another person who was looking for the missing man, police said Wednesday. The body of hiker Michael Soltis was discovered Wednesday after a member of a search party suffered a leg injury when a brown bear attacked. Police, searching for the bear, then found Soltis' body. "It appears the brown bear was protecting the body when it attacked a member of the search party," Anchorage police said in a statement Wednesday. The wounded member of the search party is expected to recover, police said. Authorities had not found the bear as of Wednesday night. "Police are still asking people to avoid the area due to the aggressive bear," a release says. “We believe the bear that attacked the volunteer was the one that attacked and killed the missing man,” police spokesman MJ Thim told the Associated Press. Soltis went missing Monday evening while on a hike in the Eagle River area northeast of Anchorage. ► June 5:Elk kicks Texas woman in the head in 2nd Yellowstone attack in 3 days ► May 22:Interior Dept. moves to lift rules on hunting bears and wolves in Alaska Alaska Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh told the Associated Press that the agency was still investigating whether the bear attack was predatory or defensive. Follow Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller<doc-sep>
Officials in Alaska say a brown bear killed a missing hiker then mauled a member of the man's search party Officials in Alaska are searching for a brown bear that, they say, killed a missing hiker then mauled a member of the man’s search party. Michael Soltis, 44, went missing during a hike on Monday, and was found dead on Wednesday of a bear attack in Eagle River, the Anchorage Police Department said in a press release. Around that time, a brown bear attacked a member of the search party that had been looking for the man. This, officials said, led police to finding Soltis. “It appears the brown bear was protecting the body when it attacked a member of the search party,” police said in the statement. “Police are still asking people to avoid the area due to the aggressive bear.” Alaska Bear Attack - 20 Jun 2018 Credit: Mark Thiessen/AP/REX/Shutterstock The searcher managed to escape and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries to his leg, police said. He is expected to survive. Authorities have blocked off a portion of the wooded area and put up “Danger!” signs. Soltis’ cousin Wendi Yohman told the Anchorage Daily News that she and two other volunteer searchers were looking for Soltis on a trail in the woods when she heard a noise and saw the bear. “It was so fast,” she said, noting that another searcher put himself between her and the bear and was mauled. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” Alaska Bear Attack, Eagle River, USA - 20 Jun 2018 Credit: Mark Thiessen/AP/REX/Shutterstock Now, officials with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are searching for the bear and intend to kill the animal. “We are working to find the bear, we’ve been working pretty much since yesterday morning,” department spokesman Ken Marsh tells PEOPLE. “The only person to see the bear was the person who witnessed the attack, and the man who was attacked. That sighting and evidence suggests it was a brown bear.” Marsh says officials do not know how big the bear is. However, brown bears can reach a height of at least six feet and weigh over 1,000 lbs., PBS reported. By Thursday morning, the bear had not been located.