Authorities search for bear who killed runner near Yellowstone National Park

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Authorities on Monday were searching for a grizzly bear that killed a woman, an attack that prompted the closure of a popular trail near Yellowstone National Park. The victim's body was found on the Buttermilk Trail, near the Town of West Yellowstone, Montana, about 8 a.m. Saturday, the state's Fish, Wildlife and Parks department said in a statement. The sheriff and coroner of Gallatin County, Dan Springer, said the woman has been identified as Amie Adamson, 48, of Derby, Kansas. She’s might have been running or hiking at the time, he said by email. Adamson wrote a 2020 e-book, "Walking Out: One Teacher's Reflections on Walking Out of the Classroom to Walk America," about leaving her work as a public schools English teacher in 2015 and backpacking from Delaware to Kansas. A summary prepared by Chief Deputy Coroner Beker Cuelho said she died from blood loss as a result of a bear mauling. "The bear attack did not appear to be predatory," it said. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement Monday that its wardens and bear specialists determined the woman's injuries were consistent with a bear attack. Tracks from an adult grizzly and at least one cub were found nearby, the department said. "The hiker was believed to be alone during the encounter, and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene," it said. On Sunday, the National Park Service said the Buttermilk Area, part of the Custer Gallatin National Forest northwest of Yellowstone National Park, will be closed through Aug. 25. The closure was ordered "to protect public health and safety from unsafe conditions resulting from bear activity in the area," according to a notice from Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson. The Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in its statement Monday that the search for the grizzly who attacked was so far unsuccessful. "No bears have been captured to date," it said. "FWP staff also searched the area from an aircraft and did not locate any bears." The attack was under investigation by Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.