PARK COUNTY, MONTANA: A 47-year-old woman from Kansas who was visiting Yellowstone National Park was fatally attacked by a grizzly bear and its cub on a trail near the park on Saturday, July 22. Amie Adamson's body was discovered by another hiker on the Buttermilk Trail, about eight miles west of West Yellowstone, Montana.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) confirmed that she had wounds consistent with a bear attack, and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene. They also found tracks from an adult grizzly bear and at least one cub near the site but did not see any sign of the animal responsible.
Who was Amie Adamson?
Amie Adamson was a 47-year-old woman from Kansas who had a passion for hiking and nature. Her mother, Janet Adamson, said she died doing what she loved: running through the beauty of Yellowstone. "This is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to put on here," She earlier wrote on the now likely deleted Facebook post. Adamson told ABC's Kake. "Every morning, she'd get up early, and she'd walk, hike or run," She added, "Running through that beauty of Yellowstone - she was almost in heaven." She added in the now probably deleted post, "She was a free spirit adventurer that loved the outdoors, hiked, ran and explored, She died doing what she loved." "She was very adventurous...and was not married neither had any children."
Adamson left her career as a teacher in 2015 and began backpacking across the US. She also wrote a book about her adventures, titled 'Walking Out: One Teacher's Reflections on Walking out of the Classroom to Walk America.'
Tracks from an adult grizzly bear and a cub were found near the site
On Tuesday, after the footpath was closed, the forest officials revealed the cause of her death in the Baear attack. They had found her wounds consistent with a bear attack. The Montana officials as per a Daily Mail revealed the woman was wearing hiking shoes and had no bear spray with her when attacked. The Tuesday statement wrote, "About 8 am on Saturday, game wardens with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks were notified that a hiker had found a woman deceased on the trail, about eight miles west of West Yellowstone." It added, "FWP wardens and bear specialists, along with staff from other agencies, found that the woman had wounds consistent with a bear attack." They also found tracks from an adult grizzly bear and at least a cub near the site. However, it stated, They "did not see any bears or signs of a day bed or animal carcass during the investigation. The hiker was believed to be alone during the encounter, and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene."
The attack happened near a popular campground and several residences
The attack occurred on a trail in Montana just west of Yellowstone National Park, near a popular campground and several residences, officials confirmed Tuesday - four days after the attack. Morgan Jacobsen, the information and education program manager for FWP, said that Adamson was likely out for a morning jog along the trail when she encountered the bear. “This person was likely out for a morning jog along the trail and that’s when this happened,” he told KWCH-DT. He said that there was no evidence that the bear tried to eat her or that she provoked the attack. He said that the trail is popular during the summer and that a trail camera captured an image of a grizzly bear with two cubs in the area on Saturday.
No bears have been captured to date
However, he said that no bears have been captured to date, despite setting traps and using a helicopter to search for them. He said that as more time passes, trapping becomes less effective, as the chances of catching a bear that was not involved in the attack increase. He also said that Montana’s grizzly population has grown significantly in recent years, from 136 in 1975 to more than 1,000 in 2021. He said that this increases the potential for conflicts between bears and humans, especially when bears are with their cubs or near food sources.
