Retired couple mauled to death by bears on fishing trip

Lizzie McAllister | Deputy News Editor Published July 19, 2026 11:43am Updated July 19, 2026 11:43am Jay and Deb MacDonald were on a fishing trip (Picture: Facebook) An elderly couple who went missing in Canada are thought to have been mauled to death in a bear attack after police found two bodies. Jay and Deb MacDonald, both retired and in their 70s, had gone on a fishing trip and were staying at a cabin near McTavish Lake, Saskatchewan, when they stopped answering their phones. Relatives contacted the police, who began searching the area for the pair. Two people have now been found dead, but they have not been formally identified as the missing couple. Deb’s brother, Donjames LeBlanc, said his sister had visited him just before the couple went on their trip. ‘They were going to go up and do a little fishing and so on,’ he told CBC. ‘They didn’t respond to calls that we forwarded to them, so [the family] contacted the police.’ He claims police found Jay ‘lying by the lakeshore dead’ before finding his sister’s body in the woods near the cabin. The couple had previously mentioned to him that there were large numbers of black bears in the area. Mass was held for the couple on Thursday. Canada’s Ministry of Community Safety confirmed on Friday that a bear had been involved in the couple’s deaths. Conservation officers were sent in to euthanise a bear thought to have been responsible. It will now be transported to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine for a necropsy. McTavish Lake is a remote lake located around 55 miles north of the nearest large town, La Ronge. It is only accessible by plane. News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.