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 the hunter's remains showed signs of being mauled by a bear, but didn't know if this had happened 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 about 15 kilometres from Sundre, a town northwest of Calgary.

Police have not identified the man, who was from Didsbury, only saying at the time he went missing that he was an avid hunter who had 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."