PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A bear killed a man in an "unprovoked" attack near Groom Creek in Yavapai County early Friday morning, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said.
The bear has since been killed and is no longer a threat to the community, deputies said.
Officials have identified the deceased as 66-year-old Steven Jackson of Tucson.
Jackson was at a campsite where he had been building a cabin when he was attacked by an adult male black bear and dragged 75 feet down an embankment.
Witnesses told officials they could hear Jackson yelling out for help and neighbors responded by making loud noises to get the bear to leave. One of the neighbors was able to shoot and kill the bear.
Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes said a fatal bear attack in this part of Arizona is "exceedingly rare," and he couldn't think of a situation like this occurring before during his career in law enforcement.
Arizona Game and Fish officials said there have been 15 bear attacks on people in the state since 1990. This is the second fatal bear attack in Arizona since then. The first fatality occurred in 2011 in Pinetop.
YCSO will be conducting the death investigation, while Game and Fish will investigate what may have caused the attack, but officials at the moment do not have a theory other than a predatory response by the bear.
Groom Creek is about six miles south of Prescott.
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