© Mainichi/Hiroaki HommaIn this June 2015 file photo, a brown bear is seen in the Hokkaido town of Shari.
The body of a person believed to have been attacked by a brown bear was found along a forest road in the town of Takinoue, Hokkaido, on July 12, police said.
Hokkaido Prefectural Police's Monbetsu Police Station is trying to identify the individual and the cause of their death. The gender of the body was not immediately known.
According to the police station, an employee of the district forest office called police at around 2:30 p.m. on July 12, saying, "Someone has collapsed."
The body had sustained wounds to the head, and a backpack and other belongings were found nearby. Animal dung was also spotted near the scene.
Comment: From the same
news outlet on July 3:
Body of suspected bear attack victim found in Hokkaido town
An unidentified body has been found in bushes in a Hokkaido town in what appears to be a bear attack, police said.
The remains, of unknown sex, were found in the Hokkaido town of Fukushima at around 10:20 a.m. on July 2. As it is severely damaged with some parts missing, Hokkaido Prefectural Police's Matsumae Police Station suspects that the person was attacked by a brown bear. A woman in her 70s in the neighborhood is missing, and police believe the body may be hers. They are working to identify the body.
According to the police station, the woman left her home on the morning of July 1 to work in her farm field. She did not come home that evening and her relatives contacted police the following morning. The body was found approximately 30 meters from the field during a search by officers and town hall staff.
Comment: From the same news outlet on July 3: