DNA Links Grizzly Sow and Three Cubs to Bella Coola Deaths of Mother and Daughter, B.C. Officials Say

Since searchers recovered Jenny Balcarras's remains on Nov. 2 and her daughter Selah Reed's on Nov. 3 near Bella Coola, British Columbia, the question has been which bears did it. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service answered.

Forensic testing conclusively linked an adult female grizzly and her three yearling cubs to the deaths of Balcarras, 48, and Reed, 20, the agency said. All four animals were captured over the weekend and killed under provincial human-wildlife conflict guidelines.

What investigators say happened

Insp. Jeff Tyre told an online briefing that the attack "likely involved predatory behavior, which I can tell you is very rare."

He was frank about the limits of what investigators know. "We don't know how it started, but we know how it ended," Tyre said.

The women's remains were found about 150 meters (490 feet) apart near the Snooka West Trail, outside a remote community roughly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Vancouver. Balcarras was found first. Reed's remains turned up in a bear cache, where bears store food.

The two had gone out for an afternoon walk. Family members raised the alarm when they could not reach them, and Balcarras's vehicle was found at the trailhead.

Why all four bears were killed

Tyre said bears involved in fatal attacks cannot be rehabilitated or relocated. "This type of behavior presents an extreme risk to the public, and such bears are dispatched to protect the public and prevent similar attacks in the future," he said.

More than a dozen conservation officers worked the response, recovering the victims, collecting evidence and tracking the bears through difficult terrain and weather. The agency said all trapping equipment has been removed and the investigation has concluded.

Not the bear from 2025

The DNA also rules these four bears out of a separate attack in November 2025 on a group of about 20 elementary school students and teachers in the same area. Eleven people were injured, two critically. The bear responsible for that attack was never found.

That leaves an open question for a community that has now lived through two attacks in a year.

The Nuxalk Nation's elected chief councilor, Samuel Schooner, thanked the conservation service for resolving the case. "This attack has been deeply re-triggering for our community members as we continue to recover from last year's attack," he said. Community support services will remain available as long as needed.

After the deaths, local authorities imposed a voluntary curfew and night patrols, and police escorted children to school.

The victims

Balcarras, an art therapist, had recently moved to Bella Coola to start a new career, according to a family-organized GoFundMe campaign. She leaves three young adult children and a grandchild.

Her brother, Josh Balcarras, described the two as "two peas in a pod" who "got along really, really well." "When Jenny hiked, Selah was right there beside her," he said.

The province's Ministry of Environment estimates between 10,000 and 13,000 grizzly bears live in British Columbia. The species is classified as vulnerable. The ministry calls conflicts with people "relatively rare," typically involving animals that are startled or protecting cubs or food.

Predation is a different pattern, and officials say it is uncommon. In October 2025, a grizzly injured two hikers near McGregor Mountain, northeast of Prince George. One of them died weeks later from complications. That bear was later found dead.

Tyre said the conservation service will keep working with the Nuxalk Nation and the Bella Coola community on preventing future conflicts. The agency said further analysis will examine the response and the circumstances that led to the deaths. It has not said when that review will be finished or whether it will be made public.