A 65-year-old nurse was enjoying a bike riding trip with her sister and friend when she decided to camp out in her tent – but a 400lb grizzly bear mauled and killed her
Nurse Leah Lokan was killed in a grizzly bear attack(Image: Copyright unknown)
A nurse was dragged from her tent by a huge 400lb grizzly bear and then mauled before her campmates scared it off.
However, it was too late and Leah Davis Lokan tragically died of her harrowing injuries.
Leah had been enjoying a multi-day bike riding trip with her sister Kim Lokan and their friend Katherine Boerner when they stopped off in Ovando, Montana, a popular yet tiny town on the much loved 2,700-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike route.
On July 5 2021, the trio decided to spend the night in Ovando, with Kim and Katherine opting to stay in a hotel but Leah chose to camp outside in her tent, setting up in a grassy area behind the Ovando Brand Bar Museum.
Leah wasn’t alone though – the group had met couple Joe and Kim Cole, from Amarillo, Texas, during their bicycle trip, who were also camping that night.
An undated file photo provided by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks shows a grizzly bear spotted near Camas, in northwestern Montana(Image: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks via AP, File)
Leah, 65 at the time, set her tent up next to Joe and Kim’s.
In the early hours of July 6, chaos and tragedy ensued. According to a report issued via an interagency Board of Review (BOR) made up of state and federal personnel, Ms Lokan and the Coles were woken up by a bear near their tents at around 3.08am.
The nurse realised what was happening and called out “bear, bear!” to alert her campmates.
After all three of them got up and made noise, the bear left the area and they believed that would be the last they’d see of it.
As a safety precaution, Ms Lokan moved her food, including dried lentils and packaged snacks, from her tent and put it in a building nearby.
Hauntingly, Lokan told Joe and Kim: “The bear huffed at my head.” The couple asked Leah if she wanted to go and stay at a hotel but she told them no.
She returned to her tent armed with bear spray and she and the Coles went back to sleep. According to the report, “the Coles were again awoken by noise at approximately 4.05am and they realised that Ms Lokan was being attacked by a bear.”
Leah Lokan was attacked and killed by a 400lb grizzly bear(Image: Facebook)
Unlike the first encounter with the bear, Leah didn’t call out this time. Joe Cole realised what was happening and shouted “bear, bear!”
According to the report, he unzipped his tent all while “yelling in a roaring-like voice” before spraying his can of bear spray. Kim followed and “began blowing her whistle”.
The bear could be seen on the other side of Lokan’s tent and was said to be “pouncing up and down” on her and her tent.
Joe got closer, continuing to spray at the bear to try and ward it off.
According to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee report, “the bear made eye contact with Joe, then averted its head as they approached closer, turned, and left.”
The couple could see Lokan had been dragged by the bear around eight to 10 feet and “was half out of the tent and sleeping bag showing no signs of life”.
They then ran to a nearby shop and inn to wake guests up for more help.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee report states “after initial attempts to perform CPR and AED, it was determined there were no obvious signs of life.”
It adds: “There is no way of knowing how much bear spray the bear received nor what impact the bear spray may have had on the bear. However, it is obvious that the bear left the attack scene because of Joe’s aggressive response and action.
“The bear made no attempt to defend the body.”
Leah suffered injuries including “severe lacerations to her head, neck, shoulders, and back” but “the bear had not fed upon the victim”.