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Woman killed by grizzly bear while camping in Montana

The fatal bear attack happened in the tiny community of Ovando on Tuesday morning, and a search was ongoing for the animal.
A camper in the small Montana community of Ovando was killed by a grizzly bear early Tuesday.
A camper in the small Montana community of Ovando was killed by a grizzly bear early Tuesday.Pierre Longnus / Getty Images
/ Source: NBC News

Officials in Montana are searching for a grizzly bear that killed a person early Tuesday.

The grizzly attack happened in the small community of Ovando, state wildlife officials said. The victim was not identified but was a woman described as a camper, NBC Montana reported.

The Powell County Sheriff's Office said traps have been set in the area and searchers were looking by ground and from the air for the bear.

Ovando is a community of around 60 people about 45 miles east of Missoula.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said that a grizzly bear was seen on surveillance video from a business in Ovando on Monday night and that a bear got into a chicken coop.

The sheriff's office said in a statement that campsites are closed through Sunday. "We encourage anyone in the area to be cautious and aware that as of now the bear in question has not been located," it said.

In April, a backcountry guide died days after being mauled by a large grizzly near West Yellowstone, which is just outside the national park of the same name.

Grizzly bears are federally protected as a threatened species in the lower 48 states.

A version of this story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

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