Mother and 10-month-old daughter mauled to death by grizzly bear near cabin
A mother and her 10-month-old child were mauled to death by a grizzly bear outside of a remote cabin in Canada's Yukon territory on Monday.
The bodies of Valerie Theoret, 37, and her infant daughter, Adele Roesholt, were discovered by Gjermund Roesholt, the child's father and Theoret's partner, at around 3 p.m., the Yukon Coroner's Service said in a press release obtained by CBC News.
The couple, described as experienced animal trappers, decided to spend part of Theoret's maternity leave living in a secluded cabin near Einarson Lake, more than 250 miles outside Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. CBC News reports that the family had lived in the cabin for three months prior to the incident.
According to the coroner's office, Theoret, a French teacher at Whitehouse Elementary School, had taken the baby out for a walk sometime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the two were attacked.
When Roesholt, who reportedly spent most of the day along the family's trap lines, attempted to return home, he was charged at by a grizzly bear close to the cabin.
After shooting and killing the animal, Roesholt approached the home where he discovered the lifeless bodies of Theoret and Adele.
The Yukon Royal Canadian Mounted Police has launched an investigation into the incident.
Yukon RCMP and Yukon Coroner's Service are investigating the death of two individuals following a suspected bear attack on November 26, northeast of Mayo, near the NWT border. Environment Yukon is assisting with the investigation. More information will be released soon.
— Yukon RCMP (@YukonRCMP) November 27, 2018
The tragic accident has understandably left the small community reeling.
"It's going to be devastating to the community because it's going to hit home to everybody," said Brian Melanson, a trapper who knew the couple. "You know, we go out there, all of us, we take our wives and our children, and we live out there."
"These are competent bush people," he added. "It's not from lack of experience."
Bruce Dent, the vice principal at Whitehorse Elementary, told Global News Canada that Theoret, who worked at the school for over seven years, "was really well-loved by her students, by their parents, by her colleagues."
"The community is definitely in mourning," he said. "It's always difficult to lose anyone. It's particularly difficult when it’s such a shocking, unforeseen instance. It’s going to take a lot of time for people around her to get over it."
