Alberta hunter may have been killed by bear: police

A bear may have attacked and killed a missing hunter, whose remains were found Wednesday, police said.

The body of the hunter, missing since Tuesday, was discovered by searchers about one kilometre west of where his empty vehicle was parked.

RCMP said thehunter's remainsshowed signs of being mauled by a bear, but didn't know ifthis hadhappened before or after his death. They are waiting for the results of an autopsy.

"Conceivably he could have been attacked by a bear and the bear wins or he could have had a heart attack and the bear found him," said RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb.

The man was hunting about15 kilometres from Sundre, a townnorthwest of Calgary.

Police have not identifiedthe man, who was from Didsbury,only saying at the time he went missing that he was an avid hunter whohad dressed for the weather.

"It is a horrible time of year," said Jim Pissot, director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada in Canmore. "Bears are trying to fatten up for the winter hibernation. They are obsessed with eating and maybe paying a little less attention to what else is going on around them."