One dead, one missing after suspected grizzly bear attack on Snooka West Trail near Bella Coola
BC Conservation Inspector Jeff Tyre urges the public to stay away from the Snooka West Trail area near Bella Coola after one person was found dead Monday and a second remains missing.
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The BC Conservation Officer Service is urging people to stay away from Snooka West Trail near Bella Coola after one person was found dead Monday afternoon in a suspected grizzly bear attack and a second person remained missing.
The two people were reported missing Sunday, November 1. RCMP and Search and Rescue crews were called out and found one of them dead in the Snooka West Trail area Monday afternoon, Global News BC reported on November 3. As of publication, the second person had not been found.
"It is critical the public stay out of the area, both due to the danger and to allow officers to do their work," Conservation Officer Inspector Jeff Tyre told Global News.
Tyre added: "Our thoughts are with the family of the victims during this tragic time."
What the Conservation Officer Service is doing
Tyre said conservation officers are working the area and that any bear captured will be assessed. Any bear confirmed to have been involved in the attack will be euthanized, the service told Global News.
Bella Coola is in the Central Coast region of BC, a heavily forested area where grizzly bear encounters occur. Global News reported that the previous November, four people including three children were hospitalized after a separate bear encounter in the same region, during a school field trip.
The Conservation Officer Service said the nature of the attack and the number of bears involved remains under investigation.
Stay away from the trail and report information
The Conservation Officer Service's public warning remains in place while the investigation continues. Anyone who is in or near the Bella Coola area on the Central Coast should avoid Snooka West Trail until officers confirm the area is safe.
Anyone with information about the attack should call the BC Conservation Officer Service reporting line at 1-877-952-RAPP (7277). Officers ask the public not to enter the area, as doing so could interfere with the investigation and put more people at risk.
Questions this story answers
What happened at Snooka West Trail near Bella Coola?
One person was found dead Monday afternoon, November 3, 2026, at Snooka West Trail in the Bella Coola area on BC's Central Coast, in what the BC Conservation Officer Service described to Global News as a suspected grizzly bear attack. A second person remained missing as of the Global News report on November 3. RCMP and Search and Rescue crews had been called out after the two people were reported missing Sunday, November 1.
What is the BC Conservation Officer Service asking people to do?
Inspector Jeff Tyre of the BC Conservation Officer Service told Global News on November 3, 2026, that the public must stay out of the Snooka West Trail area. He said it is critical people stay away both because of the danger and to allow officers to do their work. The service also asked anyone with information to call 1-877-952-RAPP (7277).
Where is Snooka West Trail?
Snooka West Trail is in the Bella Coola area on BC's Central Coast, a heavily forested area where grizzly bear encounters occur, according to the Global News BC report of November 3, 2026. The Central Coast is a remote region of British Columbia.
What will happen to the bears involved in the attack?
The BC Conservation Officer Service told Global News on November 3, 2026, that bears captured in the area will be assessed. Any bear confirmed to have been involved in the attack will be euthanized, the service said.
Is the trail closed?
The BC Conservation Officer Service is urging everyone to stay away from the Snooka West Trail area, Inspector Jeff Tyre told Global News on November 3, 2026. The public warning remains in place while officers conduct their investigation.
Have there been bear attacks in the Bella Coola area before?
Global News reported on November 3, 2026, that the previous November, four people including three children were hospitalized after a separate bear encounter in the same region, during a school field trip. That incident was not at Snooka West Trail.
Who should people call if they have information about this incident?
The BC Conservation Officer Service reporting line is 1-877-952-RAPP (7277). The service asked anyone with information about the Bella Coola attack to call that number, Global News reported on November 3, 2026.
What is the BC Conservation Officer Service?
The BC Conservation Officer Service is a provincial government body that enforces provincial laws related to fish, wildlife, environmental protection and other conservation matters in British Columbia. It operates under BC's Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. The service responds to human-wildlife conflicts, including bear attacks, and decides whether animals must be removed or euthanized.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- Global News BC, November 3, 2026globalnews.ca
- BC Conservation Officer Service reporting linewww2.gov.bc.ca
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