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Community rallies behind grieving family after Edam woman killed by bear

A GoFundMe page organized by Jane Rusbridge of Saskatoon is raising money for the family of Stephanie Blais (Esquirol) who was killed by a bear while visiting the family fly-in cabin north of Buffalo Narrows last Thursday with her husband Curtis, son
The Blais family as pictured on a GoFundMe page organized by Jane Rusbridge of Saskatoon – Braxton,
The Blais family as pictured on a GoFundMe page organized by Jane Rusbridge of Saskatoon – Braxton, Curtis, Stephanie, Uma and Eli.

A GoFundMe page organized by Jane Rusbridge of Saskatoon is raising money for the family of Stephanie Blais (Esquirol) who was killed by a bear while visiting the family fly-in cabin north of Buffalo Narrows last Thursday with her husband Curtis, son Eli and daughter Uma.

Rusbridge, a cousin of Stephanie, wrote on the site, “Stephanie was a wonderful mother, wife, daughter, sister, auntie, cousin, niece, and dear friend, who touched the lives of all those around her.”

Rusbridge added, “Stephanie was killed at the young age of 44 by an unprovoked bear attack in Northern Saskatchewan while at a family cabin with her immediate family. The cabin at McKie Lake has been in the family for 35 years. The family were wilderness and bear trained and experienced. The investigation after showed this was an unprovoked and surprise predatory attack by an old male bear. The area around the cabin was meticulous and there was nothing that attracted or provoked the bear to attack.”

Curtis Blais bear-sprayed and shot the bear following the attack.

“In these dark moments, we can take some comfort that quick actions prevented this unimaginable tragedy from being even worse,” wrote Rusbridge.

The funds raised by the GoFundMe page this will go towards:

-  Emergency flights

-  Additional family costs with Curtis needing to be home for now

-  Any other needs Curtis sees fit for their family

- Anything over and above, college fund for the kids.

In Tuesday’s update, Rusbridge wrote, “It is absolutely incredible how our community comes together in times of need! Your support is giving Curtis the gift of finding a way forward with his children and finding a way to honour Steph. Given he is self-employed, you are giving him the gift of time and options, and we know a weight will lift with this generosity. It’s so much more than we hoped for. Words can’t express our families’ gratitude - so we will simply say THANK YOU!”

Blais’ death is the first recorded fatal bear attack in Saskatchewan since 1983. The area is remote, near McKie Lake, approximately 150 kilometers north/northeast of Buffalo Narrows or 20 kilometers directly west of the southern tip of Cree Lake.

Buffalo Narrows RCMP says around 7:15 p.m. Aug. 20, they were advised of a bear attack that occurred in the forest north of the community of Buffalo Narrows. It was reported an adult male, a 44-year-old woman and two children under the age of 10 (from Saskatchewan) were camping when a black bear attacked the woman. No one else was injured. The woman sustained significant injuries. She was pronounced deceased by medical personnel in Buffalo Narrows after being flown out of the area where the attack occurred.

The victim’s father, Hubert Esquirol of Edam, told the press this week he was on the phone with his daughter when she was attacked. She had called him about a problem with the water pump.

According to a report from the Canadian Press, Esquirol says Blais sent her son into the cabin for the satellite phone’s antenna to improve reception, and seconds later he heard a gurgling noise, and then couldn’t get a response.

“I waited, and I stayed on the line two minutes, and I called her name and I said, ‘Hello,’ and I got no response. So then I called back and let it ring four minutes later, and I got no response,” Esquirol recounted to the Canadian Press.

“And seven minutes later Curtis called me (and said) that the bear had attacked Stephanie, he pepper-sprayed the bear, shot the bear twice, he attended to Stephanie and gave her CPR, but by that time she had no pulse.”

Esquirol said he then contacted a friend who was a seaplane operator, who picked up Blais from McKie Lake and brought her back to Buffalo Narrows.

He said many are rallying around his family in the wake of Blais’ death.

Stephanie Blais was predeceased by her mother Janice Esquirol (who died in 2008) and her older sisters Natalie, who died in a car crash in 1991 in North Battleford.

In a recent story by Victor van der Merwe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator, it was reported the number of bear inquiries received by Saskatchewan Environment between the months of April and July were up 14 per cent from last year’s 525 inquiries to this year’s just over 600 inquiries.

“Keep in mind this includes simple sightings, people seeing (bears) in their yard, it could be actual encounters with bears or a simple question about bears,” said Katherine Conkin, a wildlife biologist and team leader of the wildlife management section. 

The estimated population of bears in Saskatchewan at the moment is 43,000. 

This summer there have been reports of a bear entering a home in northern Saskatchewan, a bear attacking a runner and a bear hanging around a schoolyard. The government said this could be due to a variety of factors, including a late spring that saw the berry crop come in later than normal. This may have lead to bears wandering from usual feeding areas into new areas to find food.