COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – There was an ongoing search Monday night for the black bear or bears that killed a man and his dog near Jerome in Florida’s Collier County.
The 88-year-old man identified as Robert Markel vanished on Monday morning just south of the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area.
6 p.m. report:
Markel’s daughter called 911 to report that she had seen a black bear mauling her father’s dog near a house off State Road 29 and she couldn’t find her father.
Officials later announced Markel’s remains had been recovered in a wooded area off SR-29 near Copeland, north of Everglades City.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urged caution amid an increase in human encounters with black bears.
“We urge residents and visitors to remain vigilant and avoid the area,” FWC Officer George Reynaud said.
FWC officers remained at the scene throughout the evening.
In the evening, two separate instances of what sounded like some sort of gunshots could be heard.
After the second round, it took at least half a dozen officers to carry a bear out of the woods as the search progressed.
“We do know it was a bear attack, we don’t know if it was the same bear or multiple bears,” said Reynaud.