IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Hiker Took Photo of Bear Before It Killed Him

A New Jersey hiker killed by a bear in September took a series of photos of the animal with his cellphone before it mauled him to death.
Bear attack
Hiker Darsh Patel took this picture of a bear approaching him in New Jersey's Apshawa Preserve on Sept. 21, 2014. Patel was mauled to death by the bear shortly after the photo was taken. Darsh Patel / West Milford Police via AP

A New Jersey hiker killed by a bear in September took a series of photos of the animal with his cellphone before it mauled him to death. Police released images taken by 22-year-old Darsh Patel before the 300-pound black bear mauled him as he was hiking with four friends in the Apshawa Preserve, 45 miles northwest of New York City.

The photos show the bear behind a fallen tree in the woods. Investigators say the phone was found with puncture marks from the bear. The bear did not seem interested in food and exhibited "stalking type behavior," West Milford police and the state Environmental Protection Department said last month.

— The Associated Press