More details have been released on the grizzly bear mauling death of Anthony Pollio in Glacier National Park.

According to reports from Newsweek and SF Gate, investigators from Glacier Park and other agencies with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee believe that Pollio, 33, of Davie, Florida, was coming down the Mount Brown Lookout Trail close to dark about 9:30 p.m. May 3 when he encountered a male grizzly bear, though the exact time could not be determined.

The report found the attack likely happened at close quarters, as the trail had many downed trees and the light at that time would have been fading if not entirely dark. Sunset was 8:53 p.m.

Pollio had planned to watch the sunset from the Mount Brown Lookout. Even on a good day, the trail to the lookout is steep and strenuous, one of the steepest in the park. But in May it would have been even worse, with many downed trees as Glacier had seen significant blowdown the prior winter and the slope was already rife with dead trees from the Sprague wildfire of 2017, which burned much of the mountainside.

The Mount Brown Trail is a spur trail to the lookout off the main Sperry/Gunsight Pass Trail in Glacier.

According to Newsweek, Pollio’s last communication was at 8:20 p.m. when he texted his girlfriend saying he had gone 3 miles with 2,000 feet of elevation gain and had 2,400 more vertical feet to go over the final 2 miles.

He was coming down when the attack occurred. After the initial attack, Pollio fell or was thrown downhill, as his belongings were scattered down the slope.

Blood evidence indicated the attack continued as he went down the slope.

“Pollio was ultimately found lying on his back with his head upslope, approximately 69 feet below the trail,” Newsweek reported.

After the initial attack, he then went about 18 feet back up the slope where he sustained fatal injuries from the bear, including trauma to his face and head.

Searchers found Pollio’s bear spray fully discharged in the brush near the trail.

“The attack was likely brief and intense and not prolonged,” the report said, according to SF Gate.

The bear had no known previous negative encounters with people.

“DNA from bear hair and bear scat collected at the scene matched a grizzly bear with no previous history of human conflict, aggression or capture, described as a ‘life-long resident of the park.’ Investigators found no evidence of predation or caching at the scene, and no bears were found in the area during the search or investigation process,” the SF Gate story noted.

Glacier does not recommend hiking alone or after dark. Pollio’s death was the first in Glacier by a  bear since 1998.

The report has since been put back up after being down on July 22. The link is here.