A cyclist believed to have been killed by a black bear in eastern British Columbia has been identified as Robin Kochorek, a 31-year-old Calgary resident.

The RCMP shot a black bear found next to Kochorek's body on a trail near the Panorama ski resort, close to the B.C.-Alberta border.

Robin Kochorek's body was found on a trail near the Panorama Ski Resort, close to the B.C.-Alberta boundary.
(Courtesy family and Calgary Sun)

Kochorek was on a mountain bike trip and was reported missing on Saturday night.

Paul Visentin, a conservation officer with the B.C. Ministry of Environment, said the department is still investigating if Kochorek was killed by a bear.

Her brother, Michael Kochorek, told CBC News Tuesday that a member of the search party told him that his sister was killed by a black bear.

"He said from his experience and what he has seen, that it was a bear attack. Now, whether it happened while she was on her bike, or whether she fell off her bike and then a bear came upon her, those specific things aren't known."

Kochorek died doing something she loved, he said. She was an avid hiker and mountain biker who relished the outdoors and living near the mountains.

But he said when he took part in the search and rescue effort on Sunday, each group was given bear mace and was told there was more than one report of a bear chasing a mountain biker on the hill.

"It just seems absurd to me that that information is communicated then and not when someone is considering going mountain biking," he said. "I don't think my sister would have gone."

Warning signs posted earlier in week

Mark Woodburn, the general manager at Panorama, said signs were posted earlier in the week after they received three reports about a bear, but those signs were taken down by the time Kochorek and her friends arrived.

"We are in the wilderness, as are a lot of these parks and resorts, and there are going to be bears around."

Also Sunday, two cyclists in Banff National Park escaped with minor injuries after being charged by a grizzly bear protecting her cubs.

The riders noticed the cubs on the trail near Lake Minnewanka. Before they could react, the mother bear gave chase, but didn't make contact with the cyclists.

Banff National Park staff have closed down the trail.