Sam Gottsegen, the Denver teen who was mauled by a bear in Alaska, has been released from an Anchorage hospital.
Sam, soon to be a senior at East High School, and six other boys were hiking in the remote Talkeetna Mountains, about 120 miles north of Anchorage, on July 23, when a grizzly bear who might have been protecting a cub attacked them.
Four boys had serious injuries. Sam had two broken ribs, a puncture wound to his chest that collapsed his lung and a “less-serious” bite to his head, said his father, Jon Gottsegen.
Because they were in the advanced levels of the National Outdoor Leadership School’s wilderness program, the boys had earned the right to backpack without adult supervision, said Bruce Palmer, a spokesman for the program. The boys had been trained to deal with bear attacks and appeared to have followed that protocol, Palmer said.
One teen, Joshua Berg, 17, of New City, N.Y., remains hospitalized. He was in fair condition at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage Monday morning, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Liz Navratil: 303-954-1054 or lnavratil@denverpost.com
