A woman was attacked by a bear while walking near her home in rural Snohomish County on Sunday morning, sending wildlife officers scrambling to the scene and prompting a warning for nearby residents to stay indoors. The attack happened just before 8 a.m. in the 49400 block of Index Galena Road near Highway 2, in the small town of Index.
Accounts of exactly what the woman was doing when the bear struck differ. According to KOMO News, the woman told authorities the bear pushed her to the ground, got on top of her and began attacking while she had her back turned walking her dog. A separate report from KIRO 7 states the resident was taking out the trash when a nearby mother bear and her cub attacked. The two versions of the encounter have not been reconciled.
Reports also diverge on how badly the woman was hurt. KOMO News reported she was taken to the hospital with significant injuries, while the same KIRO 7 account says the Sultan Police Department described her injuries as minor. Fox 13 Seattle, which published video of the woman describing the attack, reported that wildlife officials said she was hospitalized after the bear attacked her while she was walking her dog in her backyard, according to FOX 13 Seattle.
Officers Searched for Hours With Hounds
WDFW officers spent several hours searching the area using hounds and other tools, as reported by KATU. Crews on scene also observed what may have been the attacking bear's cub, though it was not confirmed whether the animal involved in the attack had a cub with it. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the incident, according to MyNorthwest.
Wildlife officials said the woman did not do anything to provoke the attack, per the KATU report, and the agency is looking into whether bear attractants were present in the area that might explain the animal's behavior. It remains unverified whether the bear was ultimately captured, killed or otherwise located following the search.
Agency Calls the Attack Exceptionally Rare
A WDFW lieutenant described the incident as highly unusual, telling KATU, “I can count on one hand the number of attacks I've seen like this,” after 22 years on the job. The agency's own historical counts of black bear injury incidents in Washington have varied between statements: one WDFW release put the number of documented human-black bear injury encounters since 1970 at approximately 20, while another put the figure at 19 others beyond the state's sole recorded fatal attack in 1974. Washington has recorded only that one fatal black bear attack on a human.
The Index incident follows other bear encounters reported around Washington in recent months. In September, a bear charged a 12-year-old boy near Lake Whatcom in Bellingham twice, then charged his father after he arrived, according to KING 5. WDFW has also issued statements on black bear incidents in other counties in recent years, including a Ferry County case in September 2024.
