[Manedwolf]

This is WHY carry in parks is important, and WHY you sleep well-armed when camping.

Bear Kills 11-Year-Old After Dragging Boy From Tent

Monday, June 18, 2007

AMERICAN FORK, Utah — An 11-year-old boy was attacked and killed by a black bear as he slept in a tent with his family, police said.

The boy, sleeping alone in a section of the large tent, screamed before he was dragged away in his sleeping bag Sunday night in a canyon about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, said sheriff's Lt. Dennis Harris.

The boy's body was found about 400 yards from the tent in the direction of another campsite where a bear sighting had been reported earlier in the weekend, Harris said.

Wildlife officers searching for the animal near the campground shot and wounded a bear Monday morning.

"Whether or not the bear was involved in the attack, we won't know that until we can kill the bear," said Mark Hadley, a spokesman for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

American Fork Canyon is a popular camping destination. Harris said the family was camping about 2 miles up a dirt road from a popular campground.