The woman who was mauled to death by a pair of black bears has been identified as a ‘life-long adventurer.’
An autopsy conducted by the La Plata County Coroner concluded that Laney Malavolta, 39, suffered from a fatal ‘perforating injury to her neck,’ after taking her two dogs for a walk near Durango, Colorado on April 30.
Her boyfriend, Justin Rengel, returned to their house at about 8.30 p.m. that day, according to Jason Clay, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Public Information Officer, and saw their two dogs in the yard with their leashes on, but not his girlfriend.
Laney Malatova, a ‘life-long adventurer,’ was identified as the victim of a bear attack on April 30 in Durango, Colorado. She suffered from a fatal ‘perforating injury to her neck’
Malavolta’s body was found by her boyfriend, Justin Rengel, right, who noticed she was still missing when he returned home and proceeded to search a trail she liked to walk on
He then searched a trail on private land where she frequently walked the dogs and notified authorities after discovering her body.
‘There was consumption of the body,’ Clay said, ‘and there was a lot of bear sign in the area.’
The CPW authorities found bear scat and hair near the body, they previously said, at which point they used a dog search team to locate a 10-year-old sow and two yearlings nearby.
The three black bears were then euthanized under the CPW’s policy for when a bear attacks or consumes human remains, CBS Denver reports.
They all appeared to be healthy, according to an initial examination by a pathologist, who said the bears showed no sign of disease and had adequate fat stores following the winter hibernation season.
A subsequent necropsy, similar to a human autopsy, showed that the sow, the mother bear, and one of the two yearlings had human remains in the digestive tracts.
Cory Chick, CPW’s regional manager, said the sow was potentially teaching its yearlings that humans are a source of food, not something to fear or avoid, making them dangerous to people.
‘We cannot determine with exact certainty how or why this attack took place,’ Chick said in the announcement of the necropsy findings, ‘but it is important for the public not to cast blame on this woman for the unfortunate and tragic event.’
Malavolta worked as a wine sales representative with the Republic National Distributing Co.
Rengel said Malavolta (pictured) was an experienced and knowledgeable operator in the back country who died doing what she loved
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials announced on May 2 that human remains were found in the stomachs of the sow and one of the yearlings
Black bears are typically active in the spring, Jason Clay, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Public Information Officer, said
Malavolta worked as a wine sales representative with the Republic National Distributing Co. in Littleton, Colorado, according to the Durango Herald.
She was described as a ‘life-long adventurer and lover of the outdoors’ in an online obituary Rengel wrote about her.
‘Laney spent her life in the outdoors and was an experienced and knowledgeable operator in the back country,’ he wrote. ‘Her greatest joy was to be in the woods with our friends, our family and our dogs.’
He said his sorrow about Malavolta’s tragic death was ‘eased’ by the fact that she was doing what she loved at the time.
‘While Laney’s physical presence was suddenly taken from this earth, all that know and love her can take comfort,’ he said. ‘Laney’s soul will live forever in her favorite place, doing her favorite thing. She would not have wanted it any other way.’
‘While this tragedy has shaken me and our family to the core, our burden is eased as we consider these facts.’
Malavolta’s death accounts for just the fourth fatal bear attack since the CPW started recording them in 1960. There have been several sightings of black bears near Durango in recent months, and Clay said they are typically active in the spring.
