Two people in different mountains areas in Japan were found dead in apparent bear attacks.
Hirase Tetsuo, a 78-year-old farmer, was discovered Friday morning in a mountain forest in Ooshika Village, Nagano Prefecture. Police say another woman in Miyagi Prefecture was confirmed dead after being found with signs of being attacked by an animal.
Police say Hirase had injuries to his face and neck that appeared to be scratches. They suspect a bear attack was the cause of death.
An acquaintance of Hirase had placed an emergency call on Thursday evening, saying he had not returned from hunting mushrooms.
About 30 police and fire officers had been searching for the missing man since Friday morning.
In the Miyagi Prefecture case, police say they received a call around 1:30 p.m. on Friday from a man who had been picking mountain mushrooms in Kurihara City.
He reported that a woman had collapsed in an open area. She had a bloody handkerchief with her.
The woman reportedly came from within the prefecture along with two others and the man who placed the call. They were all picking mushrooms separately.
Another one of the women remains unaccounted for.
The man says he did not see any bear. He also said he had set off fireworks three times before starting to pick mushrooms.
The man says he cannot believe what happened as the sounds of the firecrackers should have scared bears away.
Police are planning search operations from Saturday morning for the unaccounted for woman.
AloJapan.com