A woman on an early morning solo outing died in a grizzly bear attack. It happened on Buttermilk Creek trail in West Yellowstone, Montana, about 25 miles west of Yellowstone National Park.
Game wardens with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) found her deceased on the trail along with tracks from an adult grizzly bear and at least one nearby cub. They did not find firearms or bear spray in the immediate vicinity.
The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office identified her as Amie Adamson of Derby, Kansas, and said she would often go on early morning runs or hike by herself. Officials also said an investigation shows it did not appear the bear attack was predatory.
“Since we haven’t seen a bear since then and we haven’t captured one this bear may have just moved on, which is normal,” Morgan Jacobsen, FWP Region 3 media contact, told the Great Falls Tribune. This area is a travel corridor for a lot of wildlife including bears. So far, we haven’t seen a bear that has kind of stuck around and shown behavior that would indicate that it’s habituated to being near people. That’s a good thing.”
Adamson was an English teacher for two decades before putting all her household belongings in storage and embarking on a 2,200-mile backpacking trip across the United States in 2015.
(Photo credit: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks)