Mauling victims identified

The father and daughter who were mauled by a grizzly bear last week in Glacier National Park have been identified by their hometown newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune.

A columnist for the paper identified the victims as Johan Otter, 43, and his 18-year-old daughter, Jenna.

News of the mauling apparently spread quickly among people whom Otter works with at San Diego's Scripps Memorial Hospital.

"We're all very concerned," said a Scripps Health spokesman, Don Stanziano. "We're pulling for them and praying for them and anxious to have him back in La Jolla."

Otter lives in Escondido, Calif., with his wife, Marilyn. He has worked more than 13 years at the Scripps Hospital, where he is director of physical, speech and occupational therapy.

The paper reported that three Scripps executives flew to Seattle earlier this week to visit Johan Otter at Harborview Medical Center. Scripps hospital employees have been sending him get-well messages.

Jenna Otter is being treated at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. Her condition is improving, and she could be released by this weekend, Kalispell Regional spokesman Jim Oliverson said. She has declined requests for an interview.

Johan Otter is in satisfactory condition after having surgery earlier this week in Seattle.

The two were hiking on the Grinnell Glacier Trail the morning of Aug. 25 when they rounded a corner and encountered a female grizzly bear with two cubs.

In addition to having claw and bite wounds from the mauling, both suffered internal injuries when they either fell or were forced over a trailside cliff. Johan Otter fell close to 50 feet down the rocky face, while his daughter fell about 30 feet.

An all-day rescue effort ended with Kalispell Regional's ALERT helicopter hauling out the two victims in a harness below the helicopter.

Park rangers initially closed Grinnell Glacier Trail and adjacent routes in the park. Most of the trails reopened this week.

Neither the park nor the Kalispell and Seattle hospitals would release the names of the mauling victims.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.