Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse, both 62, were killed in a bear attack while camping in Banff National Park, Canada, in 2023. Their final message, sent via a GPS device, chillingly read: "Bear attack bad."
The couple, experienced campers and hikers, had taken every precaution to keep themselves safe from bears. They had set up camp in an area with no reported bear sightings, hung a bear-proof food bag in a tree, and had a used can of bear spray at their backpacker's campsite, implying they had put up a fight.
Final Desperate Message
Doug's uncle, Colin Inglis, received the horrifying message from the couple's GPS device. He immediately alerted Parks Canada, who, unable to get a helicopter to the scene, arrived at 1am and discovered the bodies of Doug, Jenny, and their border collie dog, Tris. The couple were found lying close to one another.
Colin said at the time: "They are a couple that loved each other and loved the outdoors. And they were highly, highly experienced in being out back, whether it be serious treks or canoeing, whitewater canoeing in the North country."
Elderly Grizzly Bear Found
Close to where the bodies were found, the team discovered an older female grizzly bear, estimated to be about 25 years old. The bear charged at the team and was shot dead. A post-mortem found the bear had less body fat than normal for the time of year and had bad teeth.
Paying tribute to the couple, Colin said: "I was hiking in Waterton with Doug in June and we were looking forward to many more adventures. As were lots of his friends. One of his friends told me one of the things they were looking forward to was taking their son out with Doug because he was so knowledgeable."
Tributes and Rare Attacks
He added: "And Jenny … she was the botanist. She could identify all these wonderful plants that were out there, this berry or this flower. And so that's the kind of love they had for the environment that they were out in."
Bear expert Kim Titchener, a friend of the couple, described them as "great humans". She explained there were around 60 grizzly bears in Banff National Park and while fatal attacks were rare, encounters were becoming more common as more people ventured into the wilderness.
Parks Canada stressed that fatal attacks by grizzly bears were extremely rare. In a statement, they added: "Over the last 10 years, there have been three recorded non-fatal, contact encounters with grizzly bears in Banff National Park."
