Kitsap County father, son attacked after shooting bear with arrow

PORT ORCHARD -- A father and son are recovering after an injured bear attacked the pair while they hunted it near Port Orchard.

The father and son went in search of a black bear at about 6 p.m. Saturday night around Weyers Lane and Berry Lake Road in Port Orchard, Washington State Fish and Wildlife Capt. Dan Chadwick said. The bear had been a nuisance in the area, the Kitsap Sun reports, and since the pair had a valid bow-hunting license and it is bear hunting season, they thought they'd hunt it.

The pair tracked the bear and found it late Saturday night, Chadwick said. They shot it with one arrow and it ran off. The father and son were not able to track the injured bear once they shot it, Chadwick said, and they returned home.

After discussing the situation, the pair decided to return to the woods late Saturday night and continue to track it, largely concerned that an injured bear was in the woods not far from neighborhoods.

They spotted the injured bear a short time after midnight early Sunday, and shot it with another arrow, the Sun reports. Rather than running, the bear charged the hunters. The bear jumped on the son first, then bit and scratched the father before running off.

The pair called 911 and were transported to St. Anthony's Hospital in Gig Harbor for non-life-threatening injuries. They were treated and released.

Fish and Wildlife officers searched for the bear, but could not find it Sunday. The bear was found dead by investigators Monday.

Officers told the Sun that the father and son pair should have called Fish and Wildlife right away, rather than searching for the bear after failing to kill it.

"A wounded bear is going to protect itself," Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Ted Jackson told the Sun.