Preliminary test fails to confirm bear was killer

Tissue and hair samples collected from a necropsy completed Monday at the University of Tennessee Veterinary School will undergo further tests.

Meanwhile, trapping will continue around the Cherokee National Forest swimming hole in southeast Tennessee where Elora Petrasek of Clyde, Ohio, was fatally mauled and her mother, Susan Cenkus, 45, and 2-year-old brother Luke Cenkus were injured in the bear attack April 13.

“No obvious evidence was detected during the necropsy … to positively identify the bear as the one that attacked the Ohio family last Thursday afternoon,” the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said in a statement.

The suspected male bear was captured three days after the attack not far from the swimming hole.

Tests showed the bear, which was euthanized, did not have rabies. The bear weighed 203 pounds, slightly above average for a grown male, according to experts.

Overall, the bear was in ?good condition for a bear coming out of hibernation,? TWRA spokesman Don King said. ?There were good fat deposits within the muscles, which would indicate a healthy animal. It wasn’t emaciated or starving to death.?

An examination of the bear’s digestive system found no evidence of human remains or clothing, UT spokeswoman Sandra Harbison said. Pathologist Robert Donnell said Monday before the exam that too much time may have elapsed since the attack to find such traces.

However, tissue samples were being sent off for further study in search of human DNA.

Also, additional studies to match the bear?s DNA on fur samples collected from the victims and in the attack area were planned.

Bob Miller, spokesman for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which borders the Cherokee National Forest, said DNA testing can take a while. ?This isn?t like sending it off to Fotomat,? he said.

Donnell said Monday that DNA testing could take seven to 10 days, and microscopic analysis could take four to six weeks.

Meanwhile, authorities aren’t sure if they caught and killed the right bear.

?We won?t know conclusively for a number of days,? King said Tuesday. ?We are doing our best to get the samples to the proper places and allow them to do their testing on the materials.?

A second bear caught Tuesday in the traps baited with doughnuts and honey buns is being held alive until all the test results are back on the first bear, the TWRA said

?We are in the process of removing all traps except those in the immediate vicinity of the attack,? said Les Jones, TWRA area supervisor.

The attack was only second fatal black bear attack in Tennessee in modern times ? a woman day hiking in the Smokies was killed in 2000 ? and only the 56th in the past 100 years in North America, officials said.