DNA expert likens B.C. bear attack investigation to crime scene
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A forensic DNA expert said investigators assessing the scene of this week’s deadly bear attack in Bella Coola, B.C., will likely use techniques to identify the culprit animal very similar to those used at a crime scene involving human DNA.
“It is pretty much exactly the same techniques. It’s just we’re reading a different book,” said Dean Hildebrand, who oversees the accredited forensic DNA lab at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
“In this case, it’s a grizzly bear genetic book instead of a human genetic book, but the tests are all analogous to what we use all the time.”
Though he is not involved in the case in Bella Coola, Hildebrand said investigators would collect samples, including saliva, blood or hair, to be tested in a forensic lab. The lab would then compare the DNA sequence with any animals captured.
