Animal Attack
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6:23 PM ET July 5, 2000

QUEBEC (AP) - A Canadian biathlon star killed while training in a forest died from head and neck injuries inflicted by a wild animal, most likely a black bear, a coroner said Wednesday. Coroner Cam Turmel said 90 percent of Mary Beth Miller's injuries were to her head, with the rest on her neck. He said Miller, 24, defended herself and tried to escape, but the animal dragged her for "a certain distance."

"The injuries were fatal," Turmel told a news conference. "She had no chance of survival."

Miller, of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, failed to return from a training run Sunday in a heavily wooded area at a military base northwest of Quebec City, and her body was found that night.

Bear tracks were spotted near the body.

Miller was a member of Biathlon Canada, the national biathlon association, and won a bronze medal at the North American biathlon championship last year in Camrose, Alberta.

She had arrived at the Valcartier military base last week for a summer of training at the Myriam Bedard Biathlon Center, located on the base.

Her body was located by military searchers about a half-mile from a main road.

Wildlife officials placed several cages around the area to try to catch the bear, and the Canadian base closed trails until further notice. Base officials earlier warned the athletes about black bears after one chased two cyclists in June.

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