The quest to capture the elusive black bear responsible for the incident in Barron County has ended, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials confirm. Since the attack on local resident Karen Frye on July 12, the DNR, alongside the Barron County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Wildlife Services, has utilized live-traps and game cameras to no avail; the bear remains at large.
Frye, 69, was in her backyard when she was attacked, details of which were reported on the DNR's newsroom. The DNR's efforts, which included the capture and release of other bears unrelated to this event, have not yielded the target bear following sustained surveillance. "After two weeks of round-the-clock surveillance on the property and no additional signs of the sow involved, our current options are exhausted," said Randy Johnson, a large carnivore specialist with the DNR, recounting the extensive but ultimately fruitless operation.
Amid the search, officials encountered and released multiple bears that did not fit the profile of the one involved in the attack. A deceased sow bear was also discovered and investigated, as per a statement by the DNR but the circumstances surrounding its death pointed to a vehicle collision rather than any link to the backyard encounter.
