Like a lot of outdoorsmen, I’ve had a number of “encounters” with black bears over the years. Still, none of those scenarios have ever resulted in a bear actually attacking me or in any way injuring me. As often happens, a little yelling and the bear usually heads off in the opposite direction. While bear attacks on humans are extremely rare, it does happen, and those of us in this part of the state are well aware of the bear attack that nearly killed a woman off of Musser Lane in the Muncy area two years ago.

The bear attack that I’m referring to took place in December of 2018, and the unfortunate victim was Melinda LeBarron, but even more shocking is a bear again charged her at the same spot on this past Saturday, the 17th. When I heard of this second aggressive bear behavior, I arranged to meet with Melinda and her husband, Sid, at their home where the incidents occurred. My wife, Sheila, and my daughter, Kristin, joined me for the visit and interview last Monday night. Melinda already knew my daughter, who, in fact, was the paramedic along with her partner, who were first on the scene after Melinda’s first serious bear attack.

Because of the very unusual circumstances, I wanted to hear the story right from the victim’s mouth, and Melinda was very gracious and brave in telling the heart-wrenching story of the attacks.

During the first attack two years ago, Melinda told me she went out the back door to let their little dog out for a potty break; it was dark, cold, and a bit foggy. While standing on the steps, she heard the dog barking and yelping, and then a bear bolted from around the corner of the building and began to attack her. As Melinda tried to defend her little dog, whose name was Bear, the bear clamped down on Melinda’s head and began to drag the 90-pound woman towards the road out in front of the house. The bear continued to drag Melinda across the road and into the thick, overgrown orchard for a distance of nearly a hundred yards. Melinda remained fully conscious the entire time while yelling at the bear.

What she told us next was truly gripping and, at the same time, speaks of her determination and braveness in such a dire situation.

When the bear finally stopped dragging her, she said she was on her back looking straight up at the bear who was looking down at her only inches away; at this point, she thought to herself, “This is it, it’s over.” Suddenly the bear left out a grunting sound, and all was quiet. With the bear dragging her by the head, the scalp had been ripped off except for a small attachment in the back of her head. During the attack, she also suffered from severe facial wounds, a broken pelvis, a fractured clavicle, bear claw marks throughout her body from the bear trying to shred her garments, and thirty puncture wounds.

Not knowing where the bear was in the darkness, she somehow made it to her feet, bleeding profusely from her head wounds. With her blurring vision and the dark, foggy conditions, she somehow managed to find her way back through the thick vegetation to her home. Nobody was home at the time, but she called for help, and fortunately, medical attention arrived on time to get her to the hospital.

Fortunately, over the past couple of years, Melinda has been slowly recovering from her physical wounds as well as the emotional impact of the vicious attack; fortunately, her little dog, Bear, also recovered.

Unfortunately, however, this is not the happy ending to the story that we would all have wanted. On Saturday the 17th at around 10 p.m., Melinda again stepped out back with her little dog, Bear. She heard the dog start barking, so she called for it to come back, and then she spotted a bear on a dead run about 35 yards away coming straight at her and the dog. Melinda was yelling for her dog Bear to get into the house while she made her way inside just in time to avoid the bear. Sid got to the door in front of Melinda. However, the little dog was not so lucky; the bear got to the dog before it could make it up the steps. As the bear pummeled the little dog on the steps outside the door, Sid grabbed the nearest weapon he could find; he yanked a curtain rod from the door and opened it enough to beat the bear over the head but to no avail. As Sid ran for a gun, Melinda watched the bear take off with the dog in the same direction she was dragged two years before. Melinda grabbed a paint roller as she headed out the front door in an effort to fend off the bear and save the dog, but the bear had already disappeared into the thick orchard.

As expected, Melinda had great difficulty relating the story of her dog’s demise. The bear had taken her “best friend,” her “hero.”

Game Commission personnel showed up that night to search for the dog and the bear but couldn’t find anything in the thick cover. The dog’s remains were recovered the next day 200 yards from the road.

After the first attack, as you would expect, Sid and Melinda did everything they could to prevent further bear encounters; they installed motion lights, regularly cleaned their garbage can, avoided any kind of food waste outside, and other measures to avoid bears near their dwelling. In the meantime, a trap has been placed in the area by the Game Commission. Sid told me he thought the bear was around 250 pounds and probably a female; in his and others’ opinions, they feel it is likely the same bear that attacked two years earlier. Two years prior, cubs had been spotted in the area with a bear of about that size.

Why this has happened is quite out of the ordinary, especially twice to the same person and her dog-what are the chances? As we walked in the dark back to the car parked along the road next to the thick orchard, my wife and daughter opted to enter the car on the house side. When they told me to go around the other side to get in, I knew what they were thinking, and I quipped back, “What are the chances of that bear coming back?”