As reported by the Powell Tribune, a wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a woman whose husband was mauled to death by a grizzly bear - which had been caught, tranquilized and then released by a study team that removed all of their warning signs when they exited the area.
E.F.E. was killed on June 17, 2010 approximately one mile from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team's research site - which is near the home that he and his wife had lived in seasonally for almost 40 years.
E.F.E.'s widow, Y.E., of Park Ridge, Ill., is asking for $5 million in damages. The suit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne.
The team had tranquilized the bear for study purposes, but, as the suit alleges, removed all of the warning signs three days early - which is a violation of federal protocols.
On the day or E.F.E.'s death, the study team, under the arm of the U.S. Geological Survey, captured two grizzly bears in the Kitty Creek drainage and placed radio collars on them. Of the two bears, the male that weighed 430 pounds killed E.F.E., 70, as he hiked into the area.
Emily Rankin, representing the widow, said, "Mr. (E.F.E.) was unfairly blamed for contributing to his own death. Contrary to initial speculation, there were no bear warning signs for Mr. (E.F.E.) to observe because the IGBST (Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team) personnel negligently removed each and every sign on their way out of the trapping site."
Another attorney representing Y.E. from the same firm, Yolanda Evert, was quoted in a news release: "Had warning signs been in place, (E.F.E.) absolutely would have observed them. He had safely worked and lived in the Kitty Creek area for decades before this incident. The government could have prevented this tragedy."
In a twist of fate, the suit claims that all but one cabin owner had been notified of the team's activity: E.F.E.'s.
Per a 2010 federal report, E.F.E. actually told his daughter that his intent on his hike that day was to look at what the trappers were doing. He noted the "Dangerous Bear" signs at a second site - where a female grizzly was caught - but had not been to where the male bear was caught.
The law firm's release attests that the warning signs were removed by interagency study team personnel just as they were leaving the site that afternoon - approximately only 30 minutes after E.F.E. had already begun his hike.
One of the trappers that day, Seth Thompson, provided investigators with this report: "This was the final day of this trapping session and we knew we would not be returning for another trapping stint in the Kitty Creek drainage. We also felt that since we had seen no hikers in the drainage since we began our operations on May 26th, and only two horse parties who stayed on the main trail, that we were justified in our actions. We also felt that the unfavorable weather conditions would curtail human activity that day."
The bear that killed E.F.E. was spotted by helicopter two days later, and killed by Interagency Team members.
Permits for the study teams state: "Every possible precaution shall be taken to avoid confrontations between bears and the public, including but not limited to closure or signing of the study sites."
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