Woman killed by big cat at Oregon wildlife sanctuary named as it is revealed 'several loose cats' held up rescue



The woman tragically killed by a big cat at an Oregon wildlife facility has been named in a police press release.



Renee Radziwon, 36, of Portland, died in the Saturday night attack, Deputy Mark Nikolai of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office confirmed to the media.



No details of attack or type of animal were released. The sanctuary is located in the suburb of Sherwood, outside of Portland.

Sgt. Robert Wurpes of the Clackamas County Sheriff's office said deputies and emergency workers were called to the sanctuary after an employee was reported to have been gravely injured on the job.

Deadly: The 35-year-old woman was attacked at the WildCat Haven (this is not the animal which carried out the attack) on Saturday night

Fire crews were unable to reach the worker because several cats were loose within the sanctuary, The Oregonian reported. She was dead when they finally got to her.



Wurpes declined to release any details on the victim, how the attack occurred or the type of wildcat. He says more information will be available Sunday.

He says the animal was locked in a cage following the attack.

It was not immediately clear which type of cat killed the worker.

No one at Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue was immediately available to confirm the reported cause of death.

Fire crews were unable to reach the worker because several cats were loose within the sanctuary, The Oregonian reported

Sanctuary: This is the website for the WildCat Haven Sanctuary just outside Portland, Oregon where the tragic attack occurred

WildCat Haven officials did not immediately respond to a telephone and email messages left Sunday.

Its website describes the facility as a 'last hope' for more than 60 wildcats that have been abandoned or abused, including bobcats, cougars, lynx and tigers.

Cheryl and Michael Tuller opened the facility in 2001.

Last summer, the sanctuary announced plans to move from its 8-acre facility in Sherwood to an 82-acre site near Silverton and launched a fundraising effort. The Tullers did not set a timetable for the move, the Oregonian reported.

The facility is not open to the public, but does provide on-site tours to donors.

In February, a 24-year-old woman interning at a California wild cat park was killed by a lion while she was cleaning the cage.



The woman's family called the incident at Cat Haven an accident. In that case, investigators believed the 5-year-old male lion lifted the door of a partially closed feeding cage with its paw and killed Dianna Hanson as she cleaned a bigger enclosure area.