Woman Partially Scalped In Bear Attack Behind Her Pennsylvania Home

A Pennsylvania woman was attacked by a bear behind her home and dragged more than 80 yards into nearby woods. She was able to escape the bear attack that happened on Wednesday in Muncy Creek Township.

The woman, Melinda Lebarron, was home when she decided to step outside for a cigarette and to let her dog out, her sister-in-law Lucinda Yoder told the Sun-Gazette. Yoder said that after the attack, Lebarron was able to get herself free from the bear and crawled back to her house to call a relative for help.

“We're looking into the circumstances of how that occurred, why that occurred and trying to identify the particular bear that may have been involved," Kristoffer Krebs, a game warden, told WYOU-TV.

Labarron suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone, multiple puncture wounds, and a partial scalping from the attack, the Sun-Gazette reported. She was in stable condition on Friday, according to CBS News. Labarron’s dog was also injured by the bear, WNEP-TV reported.

The reason the bear was near Labarron’s home is unclear at this time, but Mike Steingraber, the game warden supervisor, told CBS News that it may have been attracted to deer parts left near the home after a recent hunting trip.

The game wardens have set up multiple bear traps in response to the attack against Labarron. Game wardens told CBS news that if the bear is caught, it will be euthanized.