The Seattle Times, Seattle, Wash., 5/4/00

Tuesday, August 1, 2000

Washougal, Wash., resident Gloria McCourt was working in her garden one evening as her 5-year-old daughter played nearby. Suddenly, a 250-lb. bear emerged from the woods and fixed its gaze on the little girl. "I looked at that bear as it was looking at my baby, and something happened. I turned into the mamma bear," said McCourt. She was convinced the bruin posed an immediate threat and resolved to protect her family. Grabbing a .357 Mag. handgun, McCourt "got a bead on [the bear] and hit him in the neck." Then, with the assistance of two workers from a local fish hatchery, she trailed the animal into the woods. The posse soon found the beast expired. Capt. Murray Schlenker of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife later explained that, like most 'nuisance' bears, the one McCourt dispatched was probably nosing around because it "had become addicted to garbage."

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