A woman and her 10-month-old baby girl were killed in a grizzly bear attack outside their family's remote cabin in the Yukon, a territory in northwest Canada, the coroner's office said.
The bodies of Valerie Theoret, a sixth grade French immersion teacher at Whitehorse Elementary School, and her daughter, Adele Roesholt, were discovered Monday around 3 p.m. by her husband, Gjermund Roesholt.
"Valerie Theoret was a valued educator, and students and staff will miss her dearly. Our heartfelt condolences are with her family and friends, as well as staff and students who are grieving," Michele Royle, with Yukon's department of education, said in a statement.
"This tragedy weighs heavy on our hearts as a community and in times such as these, we will come together to honor her memory and support each other."
Yukon Chief Coroner Heather Jones said Theoret, 37, and Adele were at the cabin at Einarson Lake alone when they were attacked by the grizzly bear. Roesholt was on the family's trapline at the time of the incident.
"It appears they had been out for a walk when the incident occurred, sometime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.," she said in a press release.
As Roesholt returned to the cabin just before 3 p.m., a grizzly bear charged at him. He shot and killed the animal, and then went to the cabin, where he found Theoret and their daughter dead outside.
Jones said Roesholt used an emergency beacon device to alert friends and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the village of Mayo.
Theoret was on maternity leave from Whitehorse Elementary School, according to CBC. Jones said Theoret and her family had been animal trapping at Einarson Lake for the past three months.