(Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources photo)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has ended efforts to trap the black bear involved in a recent attack in Barron County.

The sow and cub involved have not been observed since the July 12 attack, the DNR said in a news release.

The victim, 69-year-old Karen Frye, was attacked while in the backyard of her rural residence near the town of Comstock. Frye was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. She is recovering, in stable condition and doing well, the DNR reported last month.

In partnership with the Barron County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Wildlife Services, the DNR maintained and monitored a series of live-traps and game cameras on the property since the afternoon attack occurred.

“After two weeks of round-the-clock surveillance on the property and no additional signs of the sow involved, our current options are exhausted,” said Randy Johnson, DNR large carnivore specialist. “We’ve trapped and released two boar (male) black bears, two yearling bears and two sows determined to be unrelated to the incident. We also collected a dead sow found along a roadway about 1.6 miles from the site of the attack. Initial necropsy results are consistent with injuries from a vehicle collision and there is no evidence of it being the same bear linked to the attack.”

Although trapping efforts have ceased, the DNR said it will continue to monitor the area.

Preliminary findings and information from the family indicated the bear showed rare “aggressive behaviors,” the DNR said. Because black bears displaying aggressive behavior are more likely to repeat the behavior, capturing and humanely euthanizing the bear was the goal.

Police who responded to the home July 12 shot at the animal, but it got away, and responding officers couldn’t find it, according to WEAU-TV. However, they did find a cub in a tree.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.