Russia: A 14-year-old schoolgirl was savaged to death by a bear when she was on her way to a shop in their locality.
The dead mutilated body of 14-year-old Sonya Chernigova was found in the center of Yodva Village in the Komi Republic.
Initially, authorities thought she was attacked by wolves, but when the further investigation was done, the locals found bear footprints at the scene.
According to Sergey Chernigov, the father of Sonya Chernigova, his daughter had wounds in her neck and head.
Sergey said he did not recognize his own daughter when he first saw her body.
The police said the body of the 14-year-old girl was found by a group of teenage boys.
Sergey said that her daughter went out by 10 pm to buy chocolate and juice from a shop near their house.
In an interview, he said, “I did not want to believe that it was my daughter in front of my eyes. Her face was all disfigured, it was impossible to recognize her. She was dressed just like all other girls, only her jacket was recognizable. It was all clear when I dialed her mobile number and the phone rang in the pocket of her jacket.”
Local media reports that bears and wolves in the area have plagued the village.
Authorities believe that the bear that dismantled Sonya could have been going through bins for food when it attacked her.
Nikolay Gorbunov, the chairman of the Udorsky District Society of Hunters and Fishermen, said, “Most likely, the bear was eating something at the dump. The girl happened to be close and disturbed the predator. Experienced hunters have studied the accident scene and confirmed there were bear footprints. A wolf cannot disfigure a human being in such a way. Such wounds can be inflicted only by a predator with large claws.”
Nikolay added that the injuries Sonya had were similar to the ones someone would get if he/she would be attacked by a bear.
Hunters in the area are expected to be allowed to killed local bears after the attack happened.
The father of Sonya said her 14-year-old daughter was supposed to turn 15-years-old in 2 weeks.
Sergey said, “We planned to get together on that day with the whole family. I had not decided on what present to get her. And now we have to bury her.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members of Sonya.