file photo Ridgewood School bear
Hikers warned not to walk in direction of bear before deadly West Milford attack
OCTOBER 8, 2014, 5:14 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014, 7:26 PM
BY MINJAE PARK
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
WEST MILFORD — Shortly before a hiker was killed by a black bear in Apshawa Preserve, he and four companions had been warned by an oncoming couple that the bear had been shadowing them and the hikers should not proceed in that direction, township police said Wednesday.
The five friends, all young men from Edison, discussed the warning but continued on the trail and came upon the bear, police said in a news release Wednesday. In the events that followed, one of the hikers was killed by the animal, authorities have said.
The latest account released by police is the first narrative of the moments leading up to the attack since the Sept. 21 death of Darsh Patel, a 22-year-old Rutgers student. The state Department of Environmental Protection says it’s the state’s first recorded fatality in a bear attack in more than 150 years.
Police Chief Tim Storbeck had previously said the hikers didn’t taunt the bear, but had not provided more detail.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/hikers-warned-not-to-walk-in-direction-of-bear-before-deadly-west-milford-attack-1.1104939#sthash.fvxEtvFf.dpuf
