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Officials call off search for black bear that clawed teen near Mt. Si – MyNorthwest.com
Jul
MYNORTHWEST NEWS
Jun 17, 2026, 2:23 PM | Updated: 2:24 pm
BY
MyNorthwest Content Editor
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials have called off the search for a black bear that clawed a teen near Mt. Si on Tuesday.
Three hikers were around 2.7 miles up the trail at Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area when a black bear charged at them, WDFW reported.
Two teens in the group were injured after the bear attack, Eastside Fire and Rescue reported Tuesday afternoon.
Eastside Fire and Rescue spokesperson Catherine Imboden told KIRO Newsradio that the group was enjoying the weather on the trail when they encountered a bear. At least one of the teens sustained claw marks from the bear and additional injuries from running through the brush. The other was hurt while fleeing the animal.
“They’re not life-threatening injuries, but they are significant, and obviously, they weren’t able to hike down by themselves,” Imboden explained.
EF&R has cleared the scene at Mt. Si. @WDFW remains on scene. Two teenage patients were treated for injuries. One was transported by Tri-Med to an area hospital with non critical injuries related to the encounter. pic.twitter.com/zDHhKgXCKu
— Eastside Fire & Rescue (@EastsideFire) June 16, 2026
Eastside Fire and Rescue said crews brought both patients off the trail about three miles up.
“It takes a long time to get somebody down when you’re hiking them three or four miles out on backboards or stokes,” Imboden explained.
Authorities were called to the trailhead around 12:45 p.m. after reports of an aggressive bear in the area. WDFW said a second group of hikers reported they were being followed closely by a black bear for several miles. The group told officials they saw a second, smaller bear while they were leaving the trail.
“We did have multiple hikers report seeing the bear as they were coming down,” Imboden said. “A lot of people reported that they had seen the bear, or the bear had been aggressive towards them.”
Officials closed all Mt. Si trails as they searched for the bear, but they couldn’t find the animal. WDFW said there will be no additional search efforts.
Imboden reminded people to be cautious and aware of wildlife while hiking.
“There’s cubs out there at this time of the year, there’s moms, there’s all kinds of situations where we can encounter wildlife in the area that we live in, and so, of course, it’s always something we want people to be aware of,” she said. “It’s not something we typically see out on our trails, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t happen, and it hasn’t happened before. So, we want people to be prepared.”
Eastside Fire and Rescue reported around 4:30 p.m. that crews had cleared the scene.
This story was originally published on June 16, 2026. It has been updated and republished since then.
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