The Gresham woman who went hiking on the Hunchback Trail near the Zig Zag Ranger Station southwest of Mount Hood was likely killed by a cougar.
If confirmed, this would be the first fatal cougar attack on a human in the wild in Oregon.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner says 55-year-old Diana Bowber was killed by an animal and it appears to have been a cougar. DNA evidence is being sent to a lab in Ashland to confirm what type of animal.
Bober was last seen August 29th.
A pair of hikers found her backpack and left it at the Zig Zag Ranger Station, which was closed at the time.
It wasn’t until Bober’s car was found near the ranger station that searchers were able to narrow the area where they were looking.
The hikers were able to tell investigators where they found the backpack and that help searchers find Bober’s body. It was located 200 feet down a steep hillside.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is developing a plan to capture the cougar.
They’re asking hikers to avoid the Hunchback Trail which is where Bober’s body was found.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office has notified nearby schools.
Residents are being warned to hike in pairs, keep children close and dogs on a leash.
While there are 6,600 cougars in Oregon confrontations between cougars and humans are rare. ODFW officials says this attack does not mean there's higher risk of cougar attacks in the state.