A hiker that was killed by a black bear back in September was able to take pictures of the same animal that killed him right before it attacked.
The five pictures taken by 22-year-old Darsh Patel show the 300-pound bear moving towards him and his friends in the Apshawa Preserve in West Mildford, New Jersey on Sept. 21. The authorities released the pictures after NJ Advance Media filed for a request under the Open Public Records Act.
The pictures were taken through the phone of the student from Rutgers University. He was killed by the bear shortly after taking the photographs, according to the West Milford Police's Lt. Keith Ricciardi. The incident is the first confirmed case of a bear killing a person in New Jersey.
Investigation records reveal that Patel's phone was recovered from the scene of the attack with a puncture mark that it sustained from the teeth of the bear.
In previous interviews, West Milford Police Chief Timothy Storbeck said that Patel, with four of his friends, started walking into the Apshawa Preserve in the afternoon when they were told by a couple walking the other way that a bear was following them. Despite the warning, the group of five friends decided to continue walking into the preserve.
The group stopped walking when they saw a bear that was 300 feet away from them, Storbeck said.
The pictures retrieved from Patel's phone show that the bear was about 100 feet away from him, moving closer and looking at the group. There was a sixth photo, but it was taken by one of Patel's friends. The picture looked similar to the ones taken by Patel.
When the animal kept moving towards the group, the five friends turned around, said the authorities. However, the bear was able to catch up to them, closing the gap to within 15 feet. Once the bear came that close, the five friends started to run in different directions, the survivors told the police.
Patel was last seen by his friends climbing up a rock formation, telling his friends to keep on running, while the animal was right behind him. The four friends escaped from the woods and immediately called 911.
Responders discovered the body of Patel after four hours, with the bear still in the area. The animal was later shot by a police officer.
An autopsy on Patel's body revealed that he was mauled to death, with human remains discovered in the stomach and esophagus of the bear. Human tissue and blood were also discovered in the bear's claws.
