89-year-old man and dog killed in bear attack in Florida: Officials

(JEROME, Fla.) — An 89-year-old man and a dog were killed in apparently separate bear attacks near the victim’s home in Florida, officials said.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call shortly after 7 a.m. Monday involving a “bear encounter.”

The incident was reported in the area of State Road 29 and U.S. 41 near Jerome, just south of the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area, a conservation area, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC).

In the wake of the attacks, FWC personnel killed three bears in the area, the agency said Tuesday. The bears’ DNA will be tested to confirm if any were involved in the incident.

The attacks occurred “some time apart” on Monday, and the man and the dog were found within a couple of hundred yards of the area, according to FWC spokesperson George Reynaud.

The victim was identified as Robert Markel, a longtime resident of the Jerome area. Officials believe his daughter called 911 to report the attack, Reynaud said. FWC previously said the Markel was 88, though updated on Tuesday that he was 89.

His daughter saw a bear attack the dog and then went looking for her father, who is believed to have been attacked earlier on Monday, Reynaud said.

“We do know it was a bear attack. We don’t know if it was the same bear or multiple bears,” Reynaud said at a press briefing Monday evening.

Once the investigation is confirmed, this would mark the first documented fatal bear attack in the state’s history, Reynaud said.

The animal would most likely be a Florida black bear, based on the region, FWC spokesperson Tyson Matthews said at a press briefing earlier Monday.

Markel had been alone with the dog at the residence, and there are several other residences within the property, FWC officials said.

The FWC warned residents and visitors to continue to avoid the area “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Do not approach or attempt to track wildlife,” the FWC said in a statement on Tuesday. “Law enforcement and FWC personnel are continuing to monitor bear activity and ensure public safety.”

The FWC is investigating the incident.