Fred Gunner
AH elite
A 9-year-old Canadian boy watched in horror as a black bear killed his mother while she was on the phone talking to her father, according to a report.
The tragedy unfolded Thursday evening in a very remote part of Saskatchewan, police said.
Police said Stephanie Blais, 44, suffered significant injuries in the attack.
CKOM-AM reported on Monday interviewing Blais’ father, who said his daughter’s son Eli witnessed the attack from inside their cabin.
“She called me to tell me that the water line hadn’t been working and that her husband had fixed it. She then told her son, Eli, to run inside and grab an antenna,” Hubert Esquirol told the station.
He said he then heard distorted gurgling sounds over the phone, according to the station.
“I stayed on the line for a few minutes before I hung up and tried calling again,” he told the station. “The sounds were very disturbing. An attack crossed my mind but attacks are one in a million.”
Esquirol said his daughter’s husband Curtis Blais called him back.
“He called me and told me that Stephanie had been attacked by a bear,” Esquirol said, according to the station. “The bear wouldn’t let go so he shot the bear until it let go.”
The husband administered CPR but it was too late.
Esquriol said bears have always been around, but never any trouble.
“We never leave any food around, we have never given them a reason to stay,” he said “There has never been any provoked bears or any that seemed angry. They would always run off.”
He said a conservation officer told him the bear was unprovoked in the attack and that the bear wasn’t hungry. It had a stomach full of blueberries.
“Stephanie would have been in the bears’ sight,” Esquirol told the station. “She had her back turned. She didn’t see it.”
“Curtis handled the situation extremely well,” he said, according to the station. “It could have been so much worse. The children could have been near her at the time of the attack.”
www.foxnews.com
SASKATOON — The father of a woman who was killed by a black bear in Saskatchewan last week says he was on the phone with his daughter at the time of the attack.
Hubert Esquirol says Stephanie Blais was at their family cabin on McKie Lake, north of Buffalo Narrows, on Thursday with her husband Curtis and two children Elie, 9, and Uma, 2.
The water pump had quit, so Stephanie had called her father to let him know.
Esquirol says Blais sent her son into the cabin for the satellite phone’s antenna to improve reception at the remote lake, and seconds later he heard a gurgling noise and then couldn’t get a response.
Blais was pronounced dead by medical personnel after she was flown out of the area, and police have said Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment would conduct an investigation.
It’s the first fatal bear attack in Saskatchewan since 1983.
“I waited, and I stayed on the line two minutes, and I called her name and I said, ‘Hello,’ and I got no response. So then I called back and let it ring four minutes later, and I got no response,” Esquirol recounted.
“And seven minutes later Curtis called me (and said) that the bear had attacked Stephanie, he pepper-sprayed the bear, shot the bear twice, he attended to Stephanie and gave her CPR, but by that time she had no pulse.”
Esquirol said he then contacted a friend who was a seaplane operator, who picked up Blais from McKie Lake and brought her back to Buffalo Narrows.
He said many are rallying around his family in the wake of Blais’ death.
“Elie has many cousins his age so he’s got company. Uma knows that her mother was attacked by a bear, I don’t know if she knows that her mother is dead, but she knows that her mother was attacked,” Esquirol said.
“She’s quite bright for a two-year-old, and I suspect that she knows that her mother will never come back.”
nationalpost.com
The tragedy unfolded Thursday evening in a very remote part of Saskatchewan, police said.
Police said Stephanie Blais, 44, suffered significant injuries in the attack.
CKOM-AM reported on Monday interviewing Blais’ father, who said his daughter’s son Eli witnessed the attack from inside their cabin.
“She called me to tell me that the water line hadn’t been working and that her husband had fixed it. She then told her son, Eli, to run inside and grab an antenna,” Hubert Esquirol told the station.
He said he then heard distorted gurgling sounds over the phone, according to the station.
“I stayed on the line for a few minutes before I hung up and tried calling again,” he told the station. “The sounds were very disturbing. An attack crossed my mind but attacks are one in a million.”
Esquirol said his daughter’s husband Curtis Blais called him back.
“He called me and told me that Stephanie had been attacked by a bear,” Esquirol said, according to the station. “The bear wouldn’t let go so he shot the bear until it let go.”
The husband administered CPR but it was too late.
Esquriol said bears have always been around, but never any trouble.
“We never leave any food around, we have never given them a reason to stay,” he said “There has never been any provoked bears or any that seemed angry. They would always run off.”
He said a conservation officer told him the bear was unprovoked in the attack and that the bear wasn’t hungry. It had a stomach full of blueberries.
“Stephanie would have been in the bears’ sight,” Esquirol told the station. “She had her back turned. She didn’t see it.”
“Curtis handled the situation extremely well,” he said, according to the station. “It could have been so much worse. The children could have been near her at the time of the attack.”
Canada bear kills woman on phone with dad, as son witnesses from cabin
A 9-year-old Canadian boy watched in horror as a black bear killed his mother while she was on the phone talking to her father, according to a report.
SASKATOON — The father of a woman who was killed by a black bear in Saskatchewan last week says he was on the phone with his daughter at the time of the attack.
Hubert Esquirol says Stephanie Blais was at their family cabin on McKie Lake, north of Buffalo Narrows, on Thursday with her husband Curtis and two children Elie, 9, and Uma, 2.
The water pump had quit, so Stephanie had called her father to let him know.
Esquirol says Blais sent her son into the cabin for the satellite phone’s antenna to improve reception at the remote lake, and seconds later he heard a gurgling noise and then couldn’t get a response.
Blais was pronounced dead by medical personnel after she was flown out of the area, and police have said Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment would conduct an investigation.
It’s the first fatal bear attack in Saskatchewan since 1983.
“I waited, and I stayed on the line two minutes, and I called her name and I said, ‘Hello,’ and I got no response. So then I called back and let it ring four minutes later, and I got no response,” Esquirol recounted.
“And seven minutes later Curtis called me (and said) that the bear had attacked Stephanie, he pepper-sprayed the bear, shot the bear twice, he attended to Stephanie and gave her CPR, but by that time she had no pulse.”
Esquirol said he then contacted a friend who was a seaplane operator, who picked up Blais from McKie Lake and brought her back to Buffalo Narrows.
He said many are rallying around his family in the wake of Blais’ death.
“Elie has many cousins his age so he’s got company. Uma knows that her mother was attacked by a bear, I don’t know if she knows that her mother is dead, but she knows that her mother was attacked,” Esquirol said.
“She’s quite bright for a two-year-old, and I suspect that she knows that her mother will never come back.”
Woman killed by bear in Saskatchewan was on phone with father when it attacked, he says
'I waited, and I stayed on the line two minutes, and I called her name and I said, "Hello," and I got no response'
