Officials in Oregon call off cougar hunt after hiker's death

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities in Oregon are ending a cougar hunt that was prompted by the fatal mauling of a hiker by one of the large cats earlier this month.

Hunters killed a roughly 3-year-old female cougar on Sept. 14 after its image was captured on a remote camera set up at the spot where 55-year-old Diana Bober's body had been found four days earlier.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife carnivore coordinator Derek Broman said Friday that it's "highly probable" the animal is the one that fatally attacked the avid hiker from Gresham.

Forensic pathologists couldn't recover DNA from the scene to match with the dead cougar's DNA because heavy rains contaminated the evidence and several days passed before Bober's body was found.

The cougar tested negative for rabies and appeared healthy.