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Armed 11-year-old boy saves uncle from charging bear

Published 4:53 am Sunday, July 2, 2017

By Kevin Gullufsen

Elliot Clark and family with a brown bear he shot after it charged a group of hunters near Hoonah. (Photo courtesy Sen. Shelly Hughes’ Facebook page)
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Elliot Clark and family with a brown bear he shot after it charged a group of hunters near Hoonah. (Photo courtesy Sen. Shelly Hughes’ Facebook page)
Elliot Clark and family with a brown bear he shot after it charged a group of hunters near Hoonah. (Photo courtesy Sen. Shelly Hughes’ Facebook page)
Elliot Clark, pictured with gun, poses with the hide of a brown bear that charged a group of hunters near Hoonah. (Photo courtesy Sen. Shelly Hughes’ Facebook page)

Quick action from a Hoonah boy saved a fishing party from a charging brown bear on June 18, the Empire has learned through Alaska State Troopers and family members.

It was the first Defense of Life or Property (DLP) killing in the Hoonah area this year, according to trooper spokesperson Megan Peters.

When the attack occurred, Elliot Clark, then 11 years old, was walking through the woods near Game Creek in Port Frederick several miles south of Hoonah. The young outdoorsman was heading to a nearby fishing hole with his uncle, Craig Stoltzfus, Stoltzfus’ father, a cousin and three dogs.

Stoltzfus and Elliot Clark were armed when a brown bear came out of the woods, charging the group head on. The other members of the party were not armed.

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