Editor’s Note: This story was last updated at 5:11 p.m., Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
Haines resident Toni Smith was mauled by a bear on Mt. Riley Road early Saturday morning while she was walking her dog. Smith walked with her dog back to her home before calling 911 at about 6:23 a.m.
After the attack, Haines police and Alaska Wildlife Trooper Josh Whitby investigated the site and found tracks believed to be from a female brown bear and a cub, though they did not confirm that the tracks were from the bear involved in the attack.
Officers also found evidence that the bear may have had a cache of food just off the road near the site of the attack. On Wednesday, Alaska Department of Fish and Game bear biologist Anthony Crupi said the cache was likely human food waste.
In a press release, Alaska Department of Fish and Game regional coordinator Elizabeth Roberts wrote that Smith had been walking her dog on a leash.
The release also wrote that “the initial investigation indicates this was consistent with a defensive response of the bear and not a predatory attack. The team discovered that food waste had been dumped near the road, which may have attracted the bear.”
Police closed the Lily Lake trailhead to the public Saturday due to bear danger. The department also warned hikers on the nearby Battery Point and Mt. Riley trails to be cautious.
Borough police and Whitby hiked the area, set up game cameras, and began monitoring the site of the cache.
On Monday evening, police officer Max Marty was watching the area when a young male bear came out of the woods. Whitby said Marty tried to haze the bear using a shotgun cracker round, an explosive round meant to scare the bear off without causing serious injury.
“Just like when using, in riot control and stuff – a rubber round – where you shoot matters,” Whitby said. “You can actually cause damage that’s going to create a wounded bear rather than essentially a really bad charley horse, which is essentially what you’re looking for when you hit a
bear with it.”
Marty’s cracker round, however, did not chase off the bear, and the bear charged him, Whitby said, prompting Marty to shoot it. The bear was wounded and ran into the woods, followed by police.
Haines police sent a Nixle alert at about 7:17 p.m. warning of a wounded bear, asking residents to avoid Mt. Riley Road.
About an hour after the first shot was fired, police fired two more shots, killing the bear.
“[We]can’t just let an injured bear run around,” Whitby said.
Whitby did not specify who killed the bear.
Police sent another alert and reopened the road by 8:17 p.m.
It’s not clear if the dead bear is the same one that attacked Smith. Whitby said they collected DNA from the bear and will send it up to Anchorage, where the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will compare the DNA with the DNA from Smith’s clothing.
It took some time for Smith to get to a Juneau hospital for treatment after the attack. A medevac service attempted to fly her to Juneau on Saturday but was not able to land due to the weather, said fire chief Zak Overmyer.
The weather cleared on Sunday and Smith made it out in the afternoon.
Family member Sherri Maust said Smith underwent surgery to clean and stitch wounds, and would likely be staying in the hospital “for some time” for more treatment.
Maust posted an online fundraiser to cover Smith’s medical bills and work missed during her ongoing hospital stay. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than $19,000 had been raised.
Maust said she and the rest of her family have been “grateful and awed by the love and support pouring in” from the community.
There were numerous reports of bear activity in the townsite this week, including a brown bear at the Haines School Monday morning as students arrived for the day.
State biologists, however, do not believe the level of bear activity this year is out of the ordinary. Crupi pointed to indicators showing abundant natural bear food sources around the Chilkat Valley, particularly salmon population numbers at the Chilkoot and Chilkat weirs.
“Haines is bear country and people in Haines live with bears,” he said. “Around this time of year, they’re typically attracted to town by abundance of berries and cherries.”
The Haines Borough Police Department said in a statement this week that “in cases of imminent danger, like when a bear injures someone inside our townsite, HBPD will immediately respond to protect our community.”
Otherwise, bear management is under the jurisdiction of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and enforcement is under the jurisdiction of Alaska Wildlife Troopers.
Under state law, individuals are permitted to kill bears “in defense of life and property” in a limited set of circumstances.
According to statute, that individuals must have “done everything else you can to protect your life and property.”
The individual must not have provoked an attack, including by leaving out food or bear attractants.
The state defines property as “your dwelling, means of travel, pets or livestock, fish drying racks, or other valuable property necessary for your livelihood or survival.”
After killing a bear in defense of life and property, individuals must report the killing to Fish and Game and turn in the bear’s hide, claws, and skull.