UPDATE | July 28 — Scent-tracking dogs with the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were brought in and helped locate the bear involved in this incident. The bear was lethally removed on Sunday evening.
"With the break-in to the occupied dwelling and the vehicle, plus the bear had been sighted breaking into other dwellings in the area recently, the bear was no longer fearful of humans and comfortable forcibly entering structures to find food, regardless of human presence," CPW said in a Tuesday morning update.
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BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The man who was airlifted from Boulder County mountains Friday was not attacked by a bear, as initially reported, the Boulder County sheriff's office said Friday night.
A bear had, in fact, likely broken into the man's home, but officials now say they believe the 57-year-old was already injured prior to the break in.
The Boulder County Communications Center first received a report of an unconscious and injured man near Beaver Reservoir northwest of Ward around 12:40 p.m., according to a sheriff's office release. The man had been found in his camper, where he lived, and the door had been "forcibly damaged," sheriff's office officials said. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials had said around 3 p.m. Friday that they were responding to a reported bear attack.
▶️ WATCH: Denver7's Alex Dowd reports on the Boulder County incident
"The caller believed the injuries might have resulted from a bear encounter due to the condition of the man’s camper," sheriff's office officials said in a Friday night release.
Officials and medical staff have now determined the injuries were not caused by a bear and that the man likely suffered "a pre-existing medical emergency and was already unconscious before the bear entered the camper," per the sheriff's office announcement.
"The bear did not make any physical contact with the man," Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose said. "His injuries are consistent with previous medical conditions that he was dealing with."
Officials believe the bear was attracted by rotting food in the camper. They did not provide an update on the man's condition Friday evening.
CPW officials said they bear would be killed and that scent hounds would track the bear that broke into the man's home.
"in accordance with CPW policy, since the bear was in an occupied human dwelling, and since this tells us that the bear no longer has fear of humans, and with multiple recent break-ins in the area, that bear will be lethally removed," Van Hoose said.
The county has seen an uptick in bear activity in recent weeks, according to the sheriff's office release.
"It's just been an extraordinarily heavy bear year with bear activity," Van Hoose said. "So this past weekend, we had two bears break into cabins, occupied cabins, and we lethally removed one of those bears, and then we were not successful in finding the second one."
CPW reported in April that they'd received 98 reports of bear activity across 22 Colorado counties so far in 2026 — 77% of the 2025 year-end total — with the number expected to "increase substantially."
In that release, officials said that prolonged dry weather could lead to a rise in human-bear conflicts as availability of natural food decreases.
"It's the worst in years, probably since 2015, which is the other drought year that we experienced," Van Hoose said. "But we think because of the drought, bears are just more visible and more active, and looking for food sources that they can't find in the wild right now."
Boulder County officials on Friday night reminded residents and visitors to remain "bear aware," urging people to secure food, lock vehicles and properly store trash cans.
This story has been updated to reflect the new information that the man was not attacked by a bear, as initially reported.
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