A Soldotna man was mauled by a brown bear Saturday while hunting near Resurrection Pass Trail between Hope and Cooper Landing. Alaska State Troopers say they received a report of a brown bear attack around 3 p.m. Two men were hunting near Abernathy Creek, in the summit region of Resurrection Pass Trail, west of Devil’s Pass public use cabin.
Troopers say a 32-year-old man was seriously injured by the bear and a gunshot wound sustained while attempting to stop the attack.
Tyler Johnson posted on Facebook Sunday that he was the hunter injured in the attack. Johnson grew up in Sterling, graduated from Soldotna High School and only recently moved with his wife and son from Soldotna to Austin, Texas. He came back for a hunt with his dad, Chris Johnson, an Alaska Wildlife Trooper stationed in Soldotna. Tyler Johnson says he and his dad were looking for black bears, making their way through thick brush, when they broke out onto a clearing. Though they were making noise getting through the brush, Johnson figures they spooked the bear, which was possibly napping nearby.
“That’s when the bear announced it was there. And it was about four seconds between that and impact with me. If anyone’s heard a brown bear, it makes you kind of shiver," Tyler Jonson said.
Chris Johnson entered the clearing first, with Tyler maybe 10 yards behind. The bear initially charged Tyler’s dad, who yelled at the bear. Then, it veered toward Tyler. The bear tackled him, and as he was falling backward, he was able to unholster his 10-mm pistol. His first shot went into his left quadriceps. The next seven went into the bear. Chris Johnson used his 40-caliber Glock to also shoot the bear. It died, but not before inflicting serious injuries to Tyler’s right leg, as well as scratches on his leg and shoulder
Chris Johnson immediately called for help with an InReach satellite device. The pair administered first aid in the field, applying QuickClot to the wounds and a tourniquet to Tyler’s right leg. He figures it took about an hour and a half for a trooper helicopter to reach them, which took Tyler to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Another helicopter from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center retrieved Chris Johnson from the field.
Tyler was discharged later Saturday night. He said he’s expected to recover well but is looking out for infection in the meantime. He hopes to make it back to Austin to his family later this week.
“I’m going to miss Alaska. It’s definitely given me a few scars in the past couple months to remind me of her. It’s been a helluva summer," Tyler Johnson said.
We’ll have more from Tyler in Tuesday's KDLL’s Evening Newscast.
