Cougar kills hiker near Mount Hood

(SEPTEMBER 12, 2018) A Gresham woman was found dead in Mount Hood National Forest on Monday, September 10. The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office believes the woman was attacked and killed by a cougar a couple of days earlier.

The woman was Diana Bober. She was 55 years old and lived in Gresham. She first went missing on August 29. Her family contacted Gresham Police Department on September 7. The family told police that she liked to hike, so the police searched forest trails on Mount Hood. They found her car near ZigZag Ranger Station. Then they found the woman's body 100 yards off a trail.

Cougars are also called mountain lions or pumas. There are about 6,600 cougars in Oregon. It is common to see them in rural parts of the state. However, they don't usually attack people. This was the first fatal attack by a wild cougar in Oregon history.

“This is an unprecedented event in Oregon,” said Brian Wolfer, watershed manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We don’t know what risk it poses to the public.”

If you find a cougar in the wild, here is what you should do:

• Stay calm. Stand your ground. Do not turn and run.
• Maintain eye contact. Keep looking at the cougar.
• Pick up any children. However, don't bend down or turn away.
• Back away slowly.
• Raise your voice and speak firmly.
• If the cougar seems aggressive, raise your arms to make yourself look larger and clap your hands.
• Cougar will often run away. Give the animal a way to escape.