4 Grizzly Bears Killed After Authorities Link Animals to 'Rare' Attack on Mom and 20-Year-Old Daughter
DNA testing confirmed a female grizzly and her three yearling cubs were responsible for the deaths of Jenny Balcarras and Selah Reed.
Nov. 12 2026, Published 12:35 p.m. ET
A family of bears was put down after they killed a Canadian mother and her 20-year-old daughter, RadarOnline.com can report.
Four grizzly bears – a female sow and her three yearling cubs – have been linked by DNA to the fatal attack that killed the pair near Bella Coola, British Columbia, authorities said.
Fatal Attack Details
Jenny Balcarras and her daughter, Selah Reed, were found dead in a suspected grizzly bear attack.
Jenny Balcarras, 48, and her 20-year-old daughter, Selah Reed, were reported missing on November 1 after failing to return from a walk along the Snooka West Trail near the remote coastal community.
Their remains were found about 150 meters apart; Jenny’s on November 2 and Selah’s the following day in a bear cache.
Inspector Jeff Tyre of the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said the attack likely involved predatory behavior, which is rare.
"Our investigation also found that this attack likely involved predatory behavior, which I can tell you is very rare," he said. "That is to say, we don't know how it started, but we know how it ended."
DNA Confirmation
Investigators said the attack likely involved rare predatory behavior.
Forensic testing announced on November 10 conclusively linked the sow and her three yearlings to the deaths.
All four were killed to protect the public under human-wildlife conflict guidelines, as bears involved in fatal attacks cannot be safely relocated or rehabilitated.
DNA testing also ruled the four out of involvement in a separate November 2025 attack on schoolchildren and teachers roughly 3–4 kilometers away that injured 11 people, including two critically.
The bear responsible for that earlier incident was never captured.
The women’s remains were found about 150 meters apart, with Selah’s located in a bear cache that complicated the search.
Relatives grew concerned when Selah missed her routine Saturday-night call with her sister.
After a welfare check found Balcarras’ vehicle missing, family members located it at a trailhead.
Balcarras' brother Matt Balcarras said locating Selah's remains was difficult even though they were relatively close, "Even though it was within 100 or so meters, locating remains in a cache is difficult… There's no obvious body to identify."
Both women were identified through clothing and, in Jenny's case, small tattoos, with formal confirmation including DNA and dental records.
The Community Is Mourning the Loss
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Nuxalk Nation leaders said the latest deaths reopened trauma from the previous year.
The Nuxalk Nation community, still recovering from the 2025 school attack, imposed a voluntary curfew and arranged police escorts for children and mental-health support.
Chief administrative officer Terry Webber said, "Our community is still healing… Our priority is to ensure they’re safe and ensure our community is supported."
Jenny, an art therapist and single mother who had recently moved to Bella Coola, was described by her brother as experienced in remote wilderness: "She and my niece were not naive or foolish or uninformed. They've lived in these areas and have been around animals of countless types for years and years and decades."
She is survived by a son, two other daughters, and a grandchild.
