A 12-year-old boy is being deemed a "hero" for the courageous acts that saved his father's life during a bear attack. While out hunting in the woods of Wisconsin — something the father-son duo often did — 43-year-old Ryan Beierman was almost fatally mauled by a 200-pound bear. If it wasn't for his son, Owen Beierman, he doesn't believe that he would be alive to tell the story today.
"My left cheek was sliced open and blood was oozing out of the flap. There were two fang marks in my forehead and my face was smattered with blood," he told the Minnesota Star Tribune. "The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine."
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Owen spotted the animal first. Raising his 350 Legend hunting rifle, he took a shot but didn't strike the ideal kill zone, causing the bear to run away. He and his dad started to track down the injured animal, with a nearby neighbor offering them his tracking dog to help. A little after dark, the Labrador spotted the bear.
Ryan fired off eight rounds from 6 feet away but missed with all of them. The bear then attacked the dad, pinning him on his back. "I started pistol whipping him and it felt like I was striking a brick wall," he told the Star Tribune.
"I remember thinking, 'You have to do something different.' I tried hitting him between the ear and mouth with a blunt edge of the pistol. The whole thing might have lasted only 45 seconds or more, I can’t really remember. But it was as if he was attacking in slow motion."
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Witnessing the attack, Owen raised his rifle again and fired at the bear, this time killing it and freeing his father. The son then alerted their family and emergency response teams before they drove to a hospital, thanks to the help of a neighbor.
"Thank you to all the neighbors who helped me out tonight, in a time of need! Derek Jaskolka, Randy Thomas, Jeff Stager, Joel Schollmeier, Dillon Mattson and anyone else who helped out!" Ryan shared in a Facebook post after the attack, adding that he told his wife he is "officially" done bear hunting now.
"I was flat on my back and could feel the bullet going through the bear. Owen was a hero. He shot that bear and killed it on top of me."
