VIDEO: Bear Mauls Teen — Rescue Succeeds

A grizzly bear peeking from behind a tree in a forest — BEAR MAULS TEEN

A mother bear clawed a teenager’s face and legs on one of the most popular hiking trails near Seattle, and what happened next reveals exactly how unprepared most hikers are when wildlife stops being scenic.

Story Snapshot

A black bear attacked a teen hiker about 2.7 miles up the Mount Si trail near North Bend, Washington, clawing his face and legs.
A second teen twisted his ankle while running from the bear. Both survived with non-critical injuries.
Wildlife officials believe the bear was a mother protecting her cubs, spotted in the area that same afternoon.
The entire Mount Si trail system closed while the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife searched for the bear — and never found her.

What Happened on the Trail

Around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, a group of teenagers was hiking about 2.7 miles up the Mount Si trail when they came across a black bear. The bear charged. One teen got separated from the group and ran into the woods.

His friends heard a lot of screaming. The bear clawed him across his face and legs, then knocked him around before he managed to get back to the group.

A second teen twisted his ankle while sprinting away. King County Search and Rescue brought both boys down the mountain using an all-terrain vehicle.

The attacked teen called 911 himself to report he was being chased. Several other hikers also called 911 after hearing him scream. Eastside Fire and Rescue treated both teens on scene.

The more seriously injured boy was taken to a local hospital with non-critical injuries and was later released. His mother told reporters he was still in shock but doing okay at home. Emergency officials on scene said they did not believe the teens did anything to provoke the attack.

NEW INFORMATION: Bear charges teen hikers on Mount Si; one attacked, another hurt while fleeing.

As our @LynnanneNguyen reports, the encounter forced the shut down of a popular trailhead. pic.twitter.com/Gk7zt9oPnS

— Steve McCarron KOMO (@SteveTVNews) June 17, 2026

A Mother Bear Doing What Mothers Do

Wildlife officers confirmed the bear was a black bear, almost certainly a mother with cubs. Witnesses reported seeing a mother bear and at least one cub near the trail that afternoon. A sheriff’s deputy said the teens unintentionally got too close to her cubs. That single detail explains everything.

A mother black bear protecting cubs is one of the few scenarios where these animals, normally cautious around humans, will charge without hesitation. Officials noted that bear attacks are very uncommon in the Snoqualmie region, especially involving large, noisy groups of hikers.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife sent armed officers to locate the bear. Their plan was to put her down. They searched the area all afternoon and into the evening. They never found her.

The trail system remained closed until further notice, leaving thousands of regular hikers locked out of one of the most-visited trails in the state.

Social Media Blamed the Teens Before the Facts Were In

Within hours of the story breaking, social media filled up with people blaming the teenagers. Comments called them trespassers, accused them of harassing the bear, and pointed out it was reportedly their first hike. One commenter even noted, with some satisfaction, that there was “no statement from the mama bear yet.”

This pattern is almost automatic now. Any time a young person gets hurt in a wildlife encounter, the internet rushes to assign blame before investigators finish their work. The family of one of the boys pushed back directly, saying the teens came upon the bear and were not bothering her at all.

Two teenagers were injured during a bear encounter on Mount Si in Washington state on Tuesday, including one hiker who was attacked by the animal, authorities said. https://t.co/9ugFUSGXZv

— ABC News (@ABC) June 17, 2026

The blame-first reaction is worth calling out plainly. Emergency officials and the teen’s own mother both said there was no evidence of provocation. A mother bear with cubs does not need to be provoked.

She needs to feel her cubs are threatened, and a group of loud teenagers stumbling around a bend in the trail is enough to trigger that instinct. Assigning fault to the victims here is not just unfair. It is factually unsupported by anything officials found at the scene.

What Every Hiker on This Trail Needs to Know

Mount Si gets enormous foot traffic every single year. Bears are regularly seen there. A Washington Trails Association report from 2024 described a bear encounter less than a mile from the trailhead. The animal ran off the moment the hiker called out. That is normal black bear behavior. The difference on Tuesday was a mother with cubs nearby.

If you hike Mount Si or any trail in the Cascades, carry bear spray, make noise on the trail, and never position yourself between a mother bear and her young. Do not run. Back away slowly and avoid direct eye contact. Running triggers a chase response every time.

A King County Sheriff’s deputy summed up the day with dry honesty, saying the injured teen heard it was his first hike and it would probably be his last. That might get a dark laugh, but the real lesson is simpler.

Wild animals do not follow scripts. Mount Si is not a park with fences. It is a mountain, and the bears there were never told to stay out of the way.