West
California woman was harassed by aggressive black bear she named ‘Big B—ard’ before fatal mauling in home
Patrice Miller, 71, had been harassed by an aggressive black bear in her small Northern California town for months before it broke into her home and killed her last year.
When officials first found Miller’s body mauled and partially eaten last November in her Downieville home, they first believed she may have died of natural causes and the bear broke in, attracted by the scent.
But neighbors had reported seeing the bear, which she had dubbed “Big B—ard,” repeatedly returning to her house, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Miller even installed steel bars across her windows to try to keep the bear out before it broke her door down, the newspaper reported.
ARIZONA TEENAGER SURVIVES BLACK BEAR ATTACK IN ALPINE
Patrice Miller’s death is the first documented fatal black bear attack on a human in California. (Galen Rowell/Corbis via Getty Images)
Miller’s death is the first documented fatal black bear attack on a human in the Golden State.
“It appeared that the bear had probably been there several days and had been feeding on the remains,” Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher said.
Sierra County Sheriff’s deputies found Miller’s door broken, which appeared to be how the bear got inside.
Inside her living room, there was bear scat along with blood streaks and paw prints.
The bear had likely pulled Miller from her bed into her living room, the coroner’s report said, according to the Bee.
DISABLED VETERAN WHO SURVIVED ATTACK BY GRIZZLY BEAR RECALLS WHEN INSTINCTS KICKED IN
Miller lived in Downieville, Calif., which a wildlife official called: “right in the middle of where bears like to be.” (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez/File)
The small mountain town is “right in the middle of where bears like to be,” Catilin Roddy of California Fish and Wildlife’s North-Central region told the newspaper.
Miller’s friend Cassie Koch, who initially asked for a welfare check on her, told the Bee: “When I was a kid, you never saw a bear in town. Now, they’re all over, making their rounds. It’s easy pickins for them.”
Koch said Miller had wanted the bear to be removed but not hurt before it killed her.
Koch told the newspaper that Miller had a vegetable garden and compost and didn’t always throw her trash out immediately, which officials said could have attracted the bear to her home.
Around 40% of California’s estimated 65,000 black bears live in the Sierra Nevadas where Downieville is located, according to the paper.
The bear was eventually trapped and euthanized.
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LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The man arrested for murder in the 2006 death of his wife at a Utah national park left behind a suicide note in his Las Vegas jail cell, according to a police report.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police released a public report on the death of David Vander Meer, 49, who was in custody on an out-of-state warrant.
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office said in an affidavit that Vander Meer, a former youth pastor, was a suspect in the death of his then-wife, 28-year-old Bernadette Vander Meer, 20 years ago.
Bernadette fell to her death at Angels Landing in Zion National Park. Prosecutors said in their affidavit that they received new information implicating David, alleing that he began having a close relationship with a young girl when she was 14 and he was her youth pastor.
A fugitive task force took Vander Meer into custody in Summerlin, according to an arrest report, and he was booked into Clark County Detention Center on June 22.
In the report on his death, LVMPD said a corrections officer was conducting visual checks at about 9:30 p.m. June 24 when he noticed Vander Meer lying face down on the ground and unresponsive.
Several sections are redacted, but police wrote that the officer performed chest compressions until medical personnel arrived. Vander Meer was taken to UMC, where he was pronounced dead just after 2:36 a.m. June 25.
Investigators wrote that because of “the nature of his case,” Vander Meer was placed into protective custody. He was seen sitting upright and awake at 9 p.m., and he had no known medical conditions. He also did not mention being suicidal during a mental health screening.
Inside the cell, police wrote that Vander Meer “left a hand written suicide letter and a hand written will in his cell which has been photographed and impounded.” The following paragraph of the report was redacted, and no further details on Vander Meer’s death were disclosed.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office has not yet released its official rulings on his cause and manner of death.
Bernadette’s parents, Richard and Laura Gudenkauf, told News 3 they long suspected Vander Meer played a role in her death.
“Because of the girlfriend,” said Laura. “I found insurance policies months later that he had, lots of them.”
The Washington Commanders are retiring John Riggins’ No. 44 during the upcoming NFL season, the team announced Thursday.
The Hall of Fame running back will be honored in a ceremony at halftime of the team’s game against the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 8.
“There are certain players whose impact goes far beyond statistics, championships and accolades: They become woven into the identity of a franchise,” controlling owner Josh Harris said in a statement. “John Riggins is one of those players. …Our fans not only admired him, they identified with him. He is authentic, unapologetically himself and deeply connected to the people around him. John has meant so much to this franchise, our fans and the game of football.”
Riggins is the organization’s all-time leading rusher with 7,472 yards and 79 touchdowns on 1,988 carries and helped the team win the Super Bowl in the 1982 season.
The fan favorite nicknamed “Riggo” was the MVP of that Super Bowl for his performance best known for his memorable 43-yard TD run in the fourth quarter that put Washington ahead of the Miami Dolphins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Riggins is the seventh player to have his number retired by the team, joining Sammy Baugh, Bobby Mitchell, Sean Taylor, Sonny Jurgensen, Darrell Green and Art Monk. Green, Monk and Riggins have all happened since Harris’ group took over from longtime owner Dan Snyder.
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