Colorado officials confirm woman fatally mauled by black bears By Syndicated Content
By Keith Coffman
DENVER (Reuters) â A woman whose mutilated body was found after she went missing during a stroll in the Colorado mountains was confirmed on Tuesday to have been mauled to death and fed on by a family of black bears, which wildlife agents have tracked down and killed.
The remains of Laney Malavolta, 39, were discovered on Friday night by her boyfriend near the town of Durango, about 350 miles (560 km) southwest of Denver, in an area where she had often walked with the coupleâs two dogs, authorities said.
A family of black bears have been euthanised after the woman s death.
Photo: 123RF
Wildlife agents have tracked down and killed the bears.
The remains of Laney Malavolta, 39, were discovered on Friday night (local time) by her boyfriend near the town of Durango, about 560km southwest of Denver, in an area where she had often walked with the couple s two dogs, authorities said.
The man went looking for Malavolta when he arrived home that evening to find the dogs outside without her.
An autopsy found she died of penetrating injuries to the neck, including several bite wounds, La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith told Reuters by phone.
Woman Killed In Bear Attack Near Durango Identified 999thepoint.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 999thepoint.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Colorado Parks and Wildlife pathologist found human remains inside the stomachs of a sow and her yearling bear that CPW wildlife officers suspect of killing and eating a 39-year-old woman Friday north of Durango.
CPWâs wildlife pathologist found the remains in the digestive systems of the black bears Saturday night as she conducted necropsies of three bears at a CPW health lab in Fort Collins. A necropsy is a scientific dissection and examination of an animal, similar to an autopsy of a human.
No human remains were found in the stomach of a second yearling euthanized with the other two.
La Plata County coroner identifies woman killed by bear near Durango
CPW
and last updated 2021-05-05 08:40:58-04
On Tuesday, La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith identified the woman as 39-year-old Laney Malavolta.
The coroner said that the cause of death was perforating injury to the neck and the manner was ruled as accidental. An autopsy report will not be available for several weeks pending toxicology reports, Smith said.
Malavolta was attacked by a sow bear and died sometime Friday off U.S. Highway 550 near Trimble. She had been walking with her two dogs at the time. Her boyfriend went looking for her when the dogs returned home without her. He found her body around 9:30 p.m. and called 911, CPW previously said.