Mountain Lion Suspected of Killing Woman in Park

SAN DIEGO —  Authorities suspect that a mountain lion killed a woman whose body was found Saturday by two hikers at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in eastern San Diego County.

The woman’s body was badly mauled and scratched and showed no gunshot or other wounds, according to Greg Picard, superintendent of the 26,000-acre park in the Cleveland National Forest, about 50 miles east of downtown San Diego.

If medical authorities determine that the woman was killed by a mountain lion, it would be only the second confirmed case in California of a person being killed by one of the big cats. The first was a 40-year-old woman killed in April in El Dorado County in Northern California.

There have been several cases recently where mountain lions have chased or menaced visitors at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.

Trackers have killed five mountain lions in or near the park in the past 15 months after declaring them a threat. In the most serious incident, two rangers chased a mountain lion deep into the woods in September, 1993, and shot it to death just moments after it had bitten a 10-year-old girl and attacked her dog.

At about 11 a.m. Saturday, two hikers saw blood on a trail in the Paso Picacho portion of the park and then discovered the body about 50 feet off the trail. A backpack was also found.

The park, popular year-round with campers, hikers and picnickers, was immediately evacuated and will remain closed.

The county medical examiner was called to determine the cause of the death of the woman, described only as middle-aged.