(Newser) – A grizzly bear is believed to have killed a hiker near Yellowstone National Park just hours after researchers trapped and tranquilized the animal. Officials tracked the bear using a signal from a radio collar that had been placed around its neck, shooting it today from a helicopter. It died about 2 miles from where the body of Erwin Frank Evert was found on Thursday, reports the AP.



His wife set out looking for the 70-year-old when he didn't return from a noontime hike; she met one of the bear researchers, and the two went back to the spot where the huge adult male had been left to wake up after it was tranquilized—Evert's body was there. Scientists plan to use DNA testing to confirm that the downed bear was the one who attacked Evert. In 1983, a grizzly bear that had been drugged 12 times killed a camper near Yellowstone, causing some to speculate that bears that have been tranquilized may turn aggressive. (Read more grizzly bear stories.)

