Wildcat Haven Sanctuary

Photos taken of the Wildcat Haven Sanctuary in rural Sherwood from a fence along its southern boundary by Tia Runia, 18, who lives in a nearby house.

(Tia Runia )

Correction appended

Distraught

co-founder Michael Tuller shouted "get out of here" to wildcats while approaching his head keeper, the victim of

, according to 911 calls released Wednesday to The Oregonian.

Tuller returned to the rural Sherwood sanctuary Saturday evening from a visit to rural Marion County, where WildCat Haven has been

. The sanctuary houses about 60 rescued wildcats born in captivity, including bobcats, cougars and tigers. On Saturday,

, an employee for eight years, was supposed to leave work at 5:30 p.m.

But Tuller discovered her lying on her back, ten feet away from the cage door, well after that,

.

At 6:48 p.m., Tuller called 911.

Editor's note:

911 call includes some language and descriptions that listeners might find disturbing.

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.

"I have a keeper at WildCat Haven that was attacked, I guess," he explained, breathing heavily. "I just got home here. And I think she's dead."

"How was she attacked?" the dispatcher asked.

"We have cougars. We rescue cats, okay?" Tuller responded.

"She was attacked by an animal?" the dispatcher interjected.

"By a cougar, I believe."

Tuller asked the dispatcher to hang on, saying he would go down to the cat enclosure.

"I'm going to get her out if I can."

Tuller approached Radziwon-Chapman's body in the dark. He repeatedly muttered, "Oh my God, Renee."

He apparently shooed cougars away.

"Git!"

Dispatchers asked if he was safe.

"Get out of here!"

It sounded as if something was scraping and banging against metal.

"Go! Go!"

Voice shaking, he told a dispatcher he got his head keeper out of the enclosure.

"Do you think she's beyond help?" a dispatcher asked.

His response included a profanity about the question. "Yeah, I do."

Renee Radziwon-Chapman, 36, (seen here with her daughter, Noa Elise) died Saturday after being bitten several times by a cougar at the WildCat Haven Sanctuary near Sherwood. She was the sanctuary's animal care technician.

According to a police report, Tuller told deputies who responded that the death "should have never happened." A medical examiner asked what would have caused the attack. Tuller said Radziwon-Chapman shouldn't have brought a hose inside the cage, the report said.

The Oregon State Medical Examiner's office ruled that Radziwon-Chapman

.

The sanctuary said,

, that the gate to the cougars' lockout area was operating properly. It said

that sanctuary rules call for two qualified staff members to lock out dangerous animals.

A former board member told The Oregonian that she had seen both the sanctuary founders and Radziwon-Chapman

. Radziwon-Chapman's mother told The Oregonian that her daughter

in the sanctuary with about 60 cats.

The Clackamas County Sheriff's office determined there was no criminal wrongdoing. Officials from the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture

. WildCat Haven asked

, a nonprofit devoted to education about proper behavior around wildlife, is auditing its facility and safety practices.

Dane Johnson, a Portland attorney representing WildCat Haven, said Wednesday that he and his clients wouldn't answer questions on Saturday's cougar attack.

"Our focus right now is managing the sanctuary, grieving and cooperating with ongoing investigations," he said. "I am not going to comment further until we have information that we feel we have to give."

Calls to the sanctuary and several board members by The Oregonian were not immediately returned Wednesday.

--Fenit Nirappil: 503-294-4029; fnirappil@oregonian.com





Everton Bailey Jr. and Rebecca Woolington of The Oregonian contributed to this report.

A previous version of the article incorrectly referred to the Tullers as owners. Legally, nonprofits do not have owners.