Family reveals distressing final message sent from couple killed by grizzly in Canada

The nephew of a couple killed by a grizzly bear in Canada has revealed the last message sent from their satellite device. 

Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse, both 62 and from Alberta, Canada, were backpacking in Banff National Park. The couple had been checking in regularly with Inglis' nephew Colin Inglis, according to Canadian broadcaster CBC. Inglis told the broadcaster that the couple had checked in earlier on Sept. 29 to tell him they were setting up camp, but later in the evening, a more alarming message came through from their GPS device.  

"The message said, 'Bear attack bad,'" Inglis told the CBC. "That night was a start, obviously, of what's continuing to be a grieving process. You have that notification, you know that something bad is happening. You don't have a lot of information." 

The Parks Canada Dispatch in the national park received an alert of a bear attack in the park's Red Deer River Valley at around 8 p.m. that day, park officials said in a news release. Officials arrived at the site around 1 a.m. and found the couple dead, CBS News previously reported. 

Inglis said he and other family members believed the couple were using e-readers inside the tent, as was their habit, when the attack happened. The CBC reported that two e-readers were found inside the crushed tent.

Inglis also told the CBC that there were signs the couple had tried to scare off the bear, including an empty bear spray canister. 

"There was a struggle and the struggle didn't stay in one place," he told the broadcaster. 

The couple's dog was also killed in the attack, the CBC reported. 

Park officials said that they euthanized the grizzly bear responsible for the attack. The bear "displayed aggressive behavior," according to officials. Reuters reported that few grizzly bear attacks are fatal, but such encounters between bears and humans are increasing as more people take up outdoor activities. 

The couple had stored their food correctly at the camp site, and the area was open to the public, with no bear warnings. Inglis said the couple was just in the"wrong place at the wrong time." 

The couple's deaths marked the second fatal attack by a grizzly bear in North America this year. In July, a grizzly bear fatally mauled a woman on a forest trail west of Yellowstone National Park. The bear was later euthanized after breaking into a house near West Yellowstone in August. 

Earlier in September, a hunter in Montana was severely mauled by a grizzly bear. 

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• Canada

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reporting focuses on current events, breaking news and substance use.