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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [INTERNATIONAL]

3 clusters · 80 sources · 5 days · First seen · Last updated

Maple Ridge bear attack and RCMP response

Overview

On August 9, 2026, a three-year-old girl, Anaiyah, was injured by an adult black bear while playing on a backyard deck at a residential property in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. The child was airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a parent intervened to chase the animal away. She is currently recovering.

In response to the incident, RCMP officers encountered an aggressive bear in the area multiple times within a 40-minute window and discharged a firearm, striking an animal that fled into the woods. While the BC Conservation Officer Service initially stated through a necropsy that the bear killed by officers was not the one responsible for the attack, a subsequent investigation involving DNA analysis and a reassessment of evidence has corrected this finding.

On August 14, the B.C. Conservation Officers Service confirmed that the bear shot by the RCMP was indeed the animal that attacked the child. Sgt. Jeremy Pauls of the Conservation Officer Service apologized for the earlier confusion regarding the animal’s identity. The Maple Ridge RCMP maintained that officers acted “reasonably based on the information available at the time to prevent further injury or loss of life.”

A Predator Attack Team was deployed to the scene, and a GoFundMe fundraiser has been established to assist the victim’s parents, Andrea Lekei and Bradley Farnum, with costs related to caring for their daughter.

Entities

Maple Ridge · BC Conservation Officer Service · Maple Ridge RCMP · BC Children’s Hospital · British Columbia Conservation Officer Service

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

Timeline

  1. 2 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 60 sources
    Maple Ridge RCMP confirmed to have shot bear responsible for toddler attack

    B.C. officials confirmed that the bear shot by Maple Ridge RCMP following an attack on a three-year-old girl was the correct animal, correcting an earlier assessment after DNA analysis.

  2. 4 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 48 sources
    Maple Ridge bear attack: Search continues for aggressive black bear

    Conservation officers are searching for an aggressive black bear in Maple Ridge, BC, after it attacked a three-year-old girl on a residential deck. The child is recovering from non-life-altering injuries.

  3. 7 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 35 sources
    Maple Ridge bear attack: RCMP kills incorrect bear

    A three-year-old girl was injured in a black bear attack in Maple Ridge, B.C. Authorities confirmed that a bear killed by the RCMP following the incident was not the actual offender.

Sources

100milefreepress.net · 680news.com · abbynews.com · agassizharrisonobserver.com · albernivalleynews.com · aldergrovestar.com · am730.ca · ashcroftcachecreekjournal.com · barrierestarjournal.com · brandonsun.com · burnslakelakesdistrictnews.com · ca.news.yahoo.com · ca.sports.yahoo.com · caledoniacourier.com · campbellrivermirror.com · castanet.net · castanetkamloops.net · cheknews.ca · chemainusvalleycourier.ca · cjoy.com · ckom.com · clearwatertimes.com · cloverdalereporter.com · coastmountainnews.com · comoxvalleyrecord.com · cranbrooktownsman.com · crestonvalleyadvance.ca · dailyguardian.ca · danishconservatives.dk · everythinggp.com · goldstreamgazette.com · grandforksgazette.ca · hardstyle.com · houston-today.com · interior-news.com · kelownacapnews.com · keremeosreview.com · kimberleybulletin.com · kjjy.com · lakecountrycalendar.com · lakecowichangazette.com · langleyadvancetimes.com · mapleridgenews.com · mbfinland.fi · missioncityrecord.com · nanaimobulletin.com · narcity.com · newskarnataka.com

This summary has been updated 6 times: see revision history