Couple Killed By Grizzly Bear Scary Last Message Revealed

A family member of the campers who were tragically killed by a grizzly bear at the Banff National Park has broken their silence about the heartbreaking incident.

Adventurous Canadians received a harrowing wake-up call about camping after a couple's backcountry trip ended with multiple deaths. While the victims' families mourn the unexpected loss of the experienced hikers, a relative recently revealed the pair's final words.

Colin Inglis, uncle of the deceased Doug Inglis and his longtime lover Jenny Gusse, opened up about the couple's ill-fated encounter with a grizzly bear. Speaking on behalf of the victims' families, the source explained the late hikers were no strangers to taking week-long trips.

"They are a couple that loved each other and loved the outdoors. And they were highly, highly experienced in being out back, whether it be serious treks or canoeing, whitewater canoeing in the North country," Colin told CBC News.

The mourning relative noted the couple gave him daily updates about their trip through Garmin inReach — a GPS commonly used by backcountry campers and hikers for texting and sending other messages from remote locations. However, everything changed on day five of their week-long trip.

The late campers had alerted Colin that day about their inability to reach their planned site. Instead of hiking through the night, the duo set up camp elsewhere and assured him of their safety. "They were probably making dinner, and they were letting us know that they were OK," the source noted.

Alas, the couple was wrong about their safety, as their last update to Colin was an SOS from Garmin about a bear attack. "The message said, 'Bear attack bad,'" the grieving uncle recalled.

"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," Colin lamented. Given the deceased campers' experience in the backcountry, their relative believed the bear attack must have been an unfortunate case of the "wrong place at the wrong time."

Reflecting on their typical outdoor routine, Colin stated that once it got dark, the pair would be reading in their tent. Additionally, they would have kept their dog with them, thus having no one to alert them about the approaching bear.

Colin's prediction about the couple's final moments supported the parks team's discovery at the crime scene. Doug's uncle revealed his nephew's tent had been crushed with the lovebirds e-readers inside. However, the campers were not killed without putting up a good fight.

The hikers, he explained, were found outside the tent alongside an emptied bear spray canister. There were also indications of a struggle, showing that the couple tried and failed to scare off the animal. This led to their deaths and the passing of their beloved dog at the bear's claws.

Doug and Jenny's adventurous life was sadly cut short after they sent a GPS message to Parks Canada about the bear attack around 8 p.m. from Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch.

Unfortunately, the specially trained wildlife attack team was delayed by the weather. Natalie Fay, the external relations manager for the Banff field unit, revealed: “Weather conditions at the time did not allow for helicopter use, and the response team traveled through the night to the location by the ground.”

The weather forced the response team to hike to the coordinates, where they sadly discovered the campers' cold bodies around 1 a.m. Additionally, they encountered the grizzly bear responsible for the attack, but a peaceful resolution was not on the table given the animal's aggressive state.

Instead, the specially trained wildlife attack group euthanized the bear for the public’s safety. However, their actions were frowned upon by social media users, who believed the animal had acted within its rights as a territorial beast.

“When humans hunt & kill bears, the humans are not euthanized. Why is the bear, who is simply minding its own business in its natural habitat, euthanized after humans invade its natural space & the bear defends itself & kills the humans?” Someone bashed Parks Canada.

Another upset social media user quipped, “If the humans had not been there in the first place….in the bear’s home. Now the two people are dead, and the bear. What a waste.” A third echoed similar sentiments, writing, “Why kill the Bear. A Bear is gonna Bear.” 

Another comment read, “I’m torn here…of course it sad for the hikers, that’s a given. But putting a beardown in a national park, its home, for doing what a bear does… is sad. Maybe 25k grizzlies in ??, and 40m humans, we are the problem, not them.“