ONTONAGON COUNTY -- Linda Beck is a recently retired ambulance worker, and now, she's a victim of a bear attack.
Beck's a good friend with a bear owner, and she's routinely fed these bears for years. But during her last feeding, something went terribly wrong; unexpectedly, the bear got too close for comfort.
But she's not pointing fingers.
"It was not the owner's fault. It was nobody's fault. It was a fluke that she was in that den. They don't go in there in the heat, but for some reason she did," said Beck.
In a panic, she fled from the animal. But, in hindsight, that's one of the worst things you can do.
"Don't run," she said. "Make all of the noise you can to distract the bear. And usually, in the wild, they'll run away."
The bear chased her, pushed her to the ground, and tore at her body. She fought it back, but her efforts didn't help.
"I knew I needed more help than what I could give to stop her. So, I started to pray. And all of a sudden, as soon as I was done praying, there was a little water bucket over there. And I grabbed it and put it over her face," Beck said.
With the bear temporarily incapacitated, Beck, injured and bleeding, ran out of the bear enclosure which is surrounded by two sets of ten-foot-tall electrified chain-link fencing.
She didn't have time to lock the gates behind her, and the bear escaped.
"Michigan State Police arrived on the scene. I had radio contact with him and he had seen the bear outside of the larger fence. So, it was out and at large. We discussed it on the radio and felt that the best case was to euthanize the bear for public safety at that time," said Sgt. Steven Burton, DNR Law Enforcement Division.
Beck was then airlifted to Wausau, Wisconsin and underwent surgery there.
Even with lacerations to her arms, hips, and back, she's still grateful to have survived.
"I'm alive, and I thank the Lord for that," she said.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC