E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe body of a missing convicted murderer was dragged out of a car by a bear that ate part of it and buried the rest, authorities in Canada said Saturday, according to reports.
Rory Nelson Wagner, 53, was out on parole from a murder sentence when he vanished from Kamloops, British Columbia, on May 23, CTV reported.
The black bear was later euthanized by conservation officers, CTV said late Saturday.
The Vancouver Sun said Wagner and two others were charged with killing a man who they believed had sexually assaulted their family member.
Wagner eventually pleaded guilty to murder and was convicted in 1996, according to BCLocalNews.com. Parole documents show the murder victim was charged with the sexual assault but found not guilty shortly before the killing.
Hunters came across the remains after finding an abandoned Volkswagen Jetta on a logging road. The bear pulled Wagner’s corpse from the vehicle through an open window and buried him under a pile of dirt and vegetation.
When the hunters made the grisly find, the bear was still in the area, protecting the food stash, BCLocalNews reported.
Conservation officer Darcy MacPhee told CTV: “The bite mark measurements that we had from the body matched perfectly with the teeth on that [euthanized] bear, so we were confident that we had the animal that had been feeding on this person.”
There were conflicting reports about whether Wagner had committed suicide in the car, ahead of autopsy and toxicology tests to determine the likely cause of death.
"It's not going to be particularly difficult. In any case, it does take several weeks for toxicology results to come back. It's fairly standard," coroner Mark Coleman told the Vancouver Sun.
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Secret donors, foreign firms bankroll UK’s Diamond Jubilee celebration
- Anger as Egypt's ex-ruler Mubarak gets life in prison, not death
- In Cairo, cheers and fears over Mubarak sentencing
- NATO rescues doctors kidnapped by Taliban in 'extraordinarily brave' operation
- British monarchy's critics face uphill battle during jubilee
- Mourning the loss of more lives in Syria
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
That bear never did like it when the Canadian Criminal Justice system was soft on crime.
Guys, he wasn't alive when I did it, I was just eating a pleasant dinner after working hard to get that smelling thing out of the car and now they are going to kill me for it? How am I to develope a taste for humans if the meat was weeks old and we already are aggresive animals anyway? These Conservationists are a bunch of murders, the only thing they are conserving is there appetite for killing innocent creatures. Does the cow herd rise up and kill the humans for their developed taste of beef? Take your fellow animals as an example and stop terrorizing mother nature.
I hope the bear is okay !!!
They euthanized him. He's dead, unfortunately.
The bears statement: BUUUUUUUUURP
The sad thing about this story was killing the bear. I understand the reasons, but I think it could have been relocated. Maybe not. I don't know a whole lot about the psyche of a bear. I do think the human garbage was disposed of correctly. At least he did something useful after death. Fed an animal.
A quick show of hands here.......how many people here are over 8 years old? You can just tell when schools out for the Summer!!
I must be blind, because I don't see anything in this article that states the bear killed this man. All I see is that he pulled the corpse from the car, which suggests the man was already dead. The bear just took advantage of an available food source. I don't think he should have been euthanized since he didn't really hurt anyone.
Can you say KARMA? That's what that is. He got just what he deserved !!!
Not understanding why the bear was put down though, he did not kill the guy! That's sad, he was just having some leftovers!
It says the alleged molester was found not guilty. Maybe he was guilty but maybe he wasn't. It is too bad they euthanized the bear for simply being a bear! To the person who is 'losing all respect for Canada', you should maybe worry more about your own country.
Signed, a very proud Canadian
The organization Betp is outraged by this event... Bears eating tasty people.
There seem to be a lot of people on here who have no idea what makes a bear tick.
They are opportunists and burying their food stash is part of how they are. It's like people keeping their food in a fridge or freezer. They don't suddenly develop a taste for humans especially since they're more likely to go after scraps in landfills, berries in the forests or scraps left behind from another animals kill.
I lived in an area where bears would roam through and they would go out of their way to avoid human contact whenever possible. If there's an opportunity to grab a dead chicken thrown out of the coop, that's what they take.
The conservation officers, sadly, had to euthanize the bear. It's sad but so is the fact that someone was sexually assaulted, another was (possibly) wrongfully accused, revenge was sought and the accused was murdered and one of the original victim's family members is dead. The whole thing is just terribly sad.
To the yahoo who expressed the rapid loss of respect for Canada...we'll try to keep the tears to a minimum over that little revelation.
Signed by another proud Canadian.
Once a bear eats human flesh (and appears to like it, burying the remains, as this bear did, for a later meal), that bear will then have a much higher tendancy to kill humans again as a food source, and if it is anywhere near any humans at all, the bear is usually euthanized. At least that is the rationale usually given when bears like this are put down.
Now, as far as I am concerned, the bears were there first, it's their territory, if it is dangerous there for humans, then maybe humans shouldn't be there, etc. etc. etc. but a lot of people don't feel that way, so instead let's kill the bear.
Hope the bear didn't get indigestion - was a Vet called into this belated 'Cinco de Mayo fiesta?', (Not an Iraq/Afghan 'baby killer,' I mean an animal phycisian).
The bear was the true judge a life for a life.
Grisly scene brought to bare as man was killed by a Grizzly Bear.
Hunter quoted as saying: "We was huntin bear way up there, just me and my friend, Mr. I.D. Clair, when I thought I smelt me a Grizzly Bear. I says to my friend, ID Clair, I thinks I smell a Grizzly bear. I thinks I smell somethin coming from that car right there, says my friend ID Clair. Sure enough we saw it there, some guys head with a big blank stare. Seems the marks is from a Grizzly Bear."
These bears are fed up! Getting shot at year round, taxidermed, rugs etc!! Payback is a B@#*h
Darcy MacPhee and the other idiots that shot the bear need to be shot themselves, how do they justify their salary as conservation officers when all they really want is some excuse to shoot an inncocent bear and probably make a buck from it's bits. And please stop the 'craving' human flesh myth, you really do sound like you are from the 17th century, bears will try anything once, and they like things like berries, fish and honey, not pork (which is what human flesh is supposed to taste like). Know many pig-hunting bears? No, thought not. The man left his window open when he committed suicide, if it wasn't a bear, rats or flies would have made use of the corpse. I reckon he could work out what would happen.
oh please, it's not like bears are a remotely endangered species.
how do you justify your own existence?
I don't get it. When people play vigilante, especially on a horrible crime, society usually glorifies them. (whether or not they even killed an innocent or guilty man). But now everyone is happy?
They should have given the bear a medal.
Sometimes justice is served. He would probably be out on probation otherwise.
Bizarre story. You can't make this @!$%# up.
The bear did a great thing for society and gets killed for it? The bear should have been given a pot of honey and allowed to finish its meal, saving futher waste of taxpayer dollars. Truly no good deed goes unpunished.
So even though the bear had nothing at all to do whatsoever with the death of the human , a murderer at that , it was euthanized! Absolutely Brilliant! What benefit do you think that will yield ?