Overview
- Search teams located human remains in the Snooka West Trail area after the pair was reported missing, with one person found Monday and the second found Tuesday as investigators moved in.
- Family members identified the victims as mother Jennifer Balcarras, 48, and her daughter Selah Reed, 19 or 20, whose vehicle had been found at a nearby trailhead after relatives could not reach them.
- The BC Conservation Officer Service was called after scene evidence suggested an animal may have been involved and is working with RCMP, Bella Coola Valley Search and Rescue, the BC Coroners Service and Nuxalk Nation liaisons.
- Officers are trapping any bears in the area and will assess captured animals; provincial human‑wildlife conflict guidelines call for a bear to be euthanized if it is confirmed responsible for an attack.
- The deaths have deepened local grief and safety concerns in Bella Coola because they follow a high‑profile grizzly attack on schoolchildren in November 2025, which prompted extensive trapping and DNA testing last year.