A 36-year-old mother of three remains hospitalized after being mauled and dragged more than 100 yards by a brown bear outside her home in Kenai, Alaska, as reported by the New York Post.
Authorities identified the victim as Ariean Fabrizio Colton, who had stepped outside around 5 a.m. Tuesday for a morning jog when she was ambushed.
Alaska jogger dragged 100 yards by bear in terrifying predawn attack near driveway
Authories are searching for the bear, believed to be a brown bear, but haven’t found it yet
A woman in Alaska was mauled by a bear this week near her driveway after she left her home for an early… pic.twitter.com/OoIRSgI4Ys— Kristen Blankley (@KristenBlankley) August 31, 2025
According to Alaska Wildlife Trooper David Looring, the bear charged from a nearby property and attacked Colton roughly 150 feet from her residence. The animal dragged her down the road before a neighbor discovered her in his yard.
“He heard the barking, wolfing sound of a bear, he’d been around bears before and he thought a bear might have got a dog and was doing something in the neighborhood,” Looring told local outlet KTUU.
“He didn’t really think much of it and then he heard it some more. [In] daylight, he walked out there and located a female in the woods on his property.”
This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year
Wildlife officials reported that Colton, a married nurse who had recently moved to southern Alaska, was conscious but bleeding heavily from her face and scalp when she was found. Emergency responders transported her nearly three hours away to a hospital in Anchorage.
Her family said in a GoFundMe statement that Colton underwent surgery and faces an extended recovery. “She is stable, but has suffered severe injuries that will require extensive surgeries and a long hospital stay,” relatives wrote on Tuesday.
“Alaska mom Ariean Fabrizio Colton attacked, dragged 100 yards by brown bear after stepping out of home for morning jog”
My prayers… also, she has a #gofundme I’m donating, please do the same if you’re able. https://t.co/hwUJSDbtQl
— Elizabeth Busath (@LizOFFICIAL) August 31, 2025
MORE NEWS: Philadelphia DA Admits ‘Mistake’ After Murder Suspect Freed Twice Before Killing Kada Scott [WATCH]
An update Saturday added, “Ariean has had her initial surgery and the doctors are positive and hopeful. It is still a long road to recovery.”
The fundraising campaign has drawn significant support, raising more than $63,700 as of the weekend.
Officials believe the attacker was a brown bear, based on tracks at the scene, though the animal has not been located. Wildlife experts have urged residents to remain alert, noting that bears are currently feeding heavily on salmon and berries to prepare for winter.
“If you do get out in the woods, make sure you can hear your surroundings and what is going on,” Looring advised. “And that can be as simple as putting in one AirPod and not two.”
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has not confirmed further details on the search for the animal but continues to monitor the area for bear activity. Colton remains in stable condition as her recovery progresses.
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LifeZette. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.
as someone firmly planted in the mostly safe lower midwest, why would a bear have felt the need to attack? do they do this if they are interrupted eating? i know they can be dangerous if their babies are near, but what are other possible reason a bear might attack even tho by our perception they were not threatened. also, can bears have rabies or distemper?
We have bears here too in upstate NY. You are correct that most of the time they are just as frightened by us as we are frightened by them. But, they are wild animals and if this jogger just startled the bear or the bear was in a position where it thought it was threatened, then all “normal” behavior goes out the window. Bear spray is a good way to at least buy you some time to get out of the area.
Black Bear in upstate NY mostly try to avoid humans while brown bear and Grizzlies are altogether different
You’re talking about an altogether different animal with your reference to black bears. With respect to human-wild bear interaction, black bears and brown (grizzly) bears are nothing alike, the latter having a known high potential for unprovoked attacks on humans they find in their proximity, while black bears are known to be predominantly timid & fearful in an encounter with humans and prone to run away. They are not the same bears. Black bears & Brown bears are in fact DIFFERENT SPECIES with very different temperaments. Black bears are terrified of Browns and rightly so.
I knew it… Go F*Me beggar. You live in Alaska, why is this even a story? It is just like the demented bats that complain about the weather. Empowerment… the majority of women feel safer with a bear than they do with a man. She got her comeuppances. Go Bears!!
Dick, You are a pathetic human being & less!
It’s time to realize that Bears are a menace, and whenever they are near human developments they need to be shot. Yes, I know “this is their home and we are the invaders.” Tough sh*t. They’re bears and they are too unafraid of humans.