Man’s heartbreaking final message to dad shortly before being killed by bear

A heartbroken father has revealed the touching final message his son sent him shortly before he was mauled to death by a bear.

Anthony Pollio, 33, left his father Arthur Pollio a voicemail saying ‘I love you’ as he recounted his adventures in the Glacier National Park in Montana, USA.

The 33-year-old was last heard from that evening while conducting a solo hike along the park’s Mountain Brown Trail.

This lack of contact sparked a large-scale search last Monday (May 4).

On Wednesday, Anthony’s body was found with ‘injuries consistent with a bear encounter’.

Arthur revealed that in the voicemail, his son was out-of-breath after hiking in the wilderness.

Arthur told NBC6 TV station: ‘He said: “Dad, I’m hiking up a mountain. It’s wild out here”.

‘He says, “I love you, dad,” and that was the last message I received from him.’

Anthony lost contact with his family that evening, prompting them to contact the National Park Service.

They began a large-scale search across the park, which spans more than a million acres and is home to nearly 1,000 black and grizzly bears.

Search teams later found some of the Florida resident’s personal items in a ‘densely wooded area’ before his body was discovered 50ft (15m) from a mountain trail.

It is the first bear-related death in Montana since 1998.

Exactly how the attack happened and the sequence of events leading up to it remain ‘under investigation’, the park said in a statement.

It added that, at this stage, the ‘evidence suggests that this was a surprise encounter’.

‘The section of trail where the incident occurred has been temporarily closed while the investigation continues,’ its statement continued.

‘Park staff are working to determine next steps based on field assessments and wildlife behaviour monitoring.’

Arthur told WLPG Local 10 that Anthony was an experienced hiker and a ‘fearless man’.

‘He was an educated man and the bear just attacked him and killed him,’ he added.

Anthony’s brother Nicholas said that Anthony had only intended to hike for a few miles in daylight to watch the sunset before returning.

While on the walk, they believe he was attacked by a grizzly bear, which can weigh up to 800lbs (360kg), stand up to 8ft tall (2.5m), and are widely considered to be more aggressive than black bears.

‘I believe he was probably accosted by the bear. Used the bear spray. He might have ran from there,’ Arthur said.

‘I think the bear may have chased him down, (and) grabbed him by the shoulder.’

Before his death, Anthony studied hospitality at the University of Central Florida and worked as a service advisor at McKibben Powersports in Florida.

In his spare time, he volunteered as a deacon at his church, was passionate about animals and enjoyed water sports, driving ATVs, and racing cars.

‘His life experiences in 33 years, some people don’t get to do until they’re 90 or their whole life,’ Arthur said.

Metro has contacted the National Park Service for more information.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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