Florida officials confirmed an 89-year-old man and his dog were killed in the first fatal bear attack in the state's recorded history.
On the morning of May 5, authorities found Robert Markel and his dog deceased from an apparent bear attack on Markel's property in Jerome, a small unincorporated community 30 miles east of Naples, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Markel and the dog were home alone at the time of the incident but were killed at separate times, said Roger Young, the director of the wildlife commission. Officials said Markel's daughter made the initial 911 call for help after seeing the bear kill Markel's dog.
"When there's a loss of life, we're all affected by this, we're very sorry that this occurred," said commission spokesperson Tyson Matthews at a news conference.
So far, authorities have shot and killed three bears in the area of the attack and sent them for DNA analysis to the University of Florida in Gainesville. Officials won't know if they've found the bear responsible until results are confirmed, Young said.
The dead bear was hauled out of the woods the night of May 5 in Collier County, just south of Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Before officials exited the woods with the bear, a cluster of loud pops sounded, and then more pops, presumably gunfire, came 30 to 45 minutes later.
Earlier, they said they had put out bear traps as they continued to investigate the incident and had warned residents and visitors to stay vigilant.
Officials said the dead bear would be transported to Gainesville for testing, but did not confirm it was the bear involved in the deaths.
DNA from the scene has been sent to Gainesville.
According to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, if confirmed, the May 5 attack in Collier County would be the second bear mauling in Florida this year. While state data references black bear attacks, authorities have not confirmed the type of bear involved in the May 5 attack.
According to the data, since November 2020, there have been at least 15 bear attacks in Florida involving the presence of dogs. The last attack a dog was not present, according to the records, was in March 2020.
The last documented black bear attack in Collier County happened Jan. 9, 2018, when a black bear attacked a man in his North Naples yard.
The man was letting his dog outside when it growled and ran back inside. When the man stepped outside to see what scared the dog, one of three bears a few feet from his back door gashed his face with its massive paw. The wound left an eight-inch scar and other marks.
Contributing: Mark Bickel, Samantha Neely, Kim Luciani, Cheryl McCloud, Thomas Rodriguez, Stacey Henson; Naples Daily News