Prince George, B.C. – The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the man found dead at a campsite near Mackenzie yesterday morning was indeed killed by a black bear.

He was 27 year old Daniel Ward Folland O’Connor, of Mackenzie.

O’Connor and his fiancee were camping in a small campground near the Parsnip River off the West Forest Service Road.

He was sleeping outside near a fire pit while his fiancee slept in their motorhome. After getting up in the morning, the fiancee realized something was wrong and went for help.

O’Connor was deceased at the scene. RCMP and Conservation Officers attended and confirmed the injuries suffered were consistent with a black bear attack.

The bear has since been located and destroyed.

In light of this tragedy, the BC Coroners Service reminds those heading out to the wilderness to camp of the risks that wildlife can pose and the need to keep campsites as unattractive to bears as possible.