Beloved Alaska Man Found Mauled To Death By Bear: 'Extremely Sad Day'

A man reported missing after going hunting was mauled to death by a bear, authorities in Alaska say.

Alaska State Troopers were notified at about 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday of an overdue hunter in the Sitka area.

Tad Fujioka, 50, of Sitka, was reported overdue from a deer hunting trip.

On Wednesday, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the U.S. Coast Guard and Sitka Search and Rescue conducted land-based searches utilizing three search teams in the remote wooded area.

At approximately 11:30 a.m. search teams located Fujioka's remains.

The investigation revealed he was the likely victim of a fatal bear mauling.

Recovery efforts were made by search and rescue teams.

Troopers say his relatives were notified about his death.

A friend posted that he was well known for his work advocating for the fishing community in Sitka.

"Sending his family lots of love during this terrible time," Bee Wheeler posted on Facebook.

Abigail Moina posted, "It was always so wonderful to see you and your daughter unload the catch of the day. my deepest condolences to your family."

"Still processing the news," Ezra George Dan posted. "An extremely sad day!"