Woman in stable condition after bear attack in Barron County

COMSTOCK, Wis. (WEAU) – The Wisconsin DNR reports that each year, one to two black bear attacks happen against people in Wisconsin. This past weekend, one happened in Barron County, sending a woman to the hospital.

“We see a lot of bears around here,” Chad Olson, who lives in Colstock, said. “I think we’ve seen seven or eight out of our yard this year, and I just live two miles down the road.”

Bear sightings are pretty common in Barron County.

“I usually see a bear at least once or twice a week during the summer,” Jon Wood, who lives in Cumberland, said.

Black bear attacks, on the other hand, are quite rare.

“I was surprised. I’ve never heard of it happening,” Wood said.

“That doesn’t happen very often, it really doesn’t,” Olson said. “Something unique at that point in time happened.”

On Saturday in Barron County, 69-year-old Karen Frye was attacked outside of her home near Comstock. She was hospitalized but is in stable condition. The Wisconsin DNR said that since 2013, there have been 15 known instances of bears attacking people, including the Barron County incident.

The DNR said it is not clear why this attack happened. They were unable to find the bear, but did find a cub in a tree nearby.

While these attacks are rare, they do tend to happen this time of year when young cubs venture off on their own.

“It’s also the time when moms kick out those yearlings,” Andrew Tri, the bear project leader with the Minnesota DNR, said. “So this is where we see all kinds of bears in weird places we don’t expect.”

So if you happen to run into a black bear, DNR staff said to be prepared.

“You just want to make noise and make yourself known, make yourself big and yell,” Tri said.

“I think they’re afraid of you as much as you’re afraid of them, so stay out of their territory,” Olson said.

DNR officials said the black bear in the attack showed sustained aggression to the victim, which leaves a higher risk for another attack. The DNR said that, because of this, the goal is to capture and euthanize the bear involved.

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