'He was torn up pretty bad': Two Yellowstone hikers injured by at least one bear near Old Faithful

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Two hikers in Yellowstone National Park were injured by at least one bear near Old Faithful on Monday.

The pair was hiking on the Mystic Falls Trail when the incident occurred. This marks the first bear incident in the park in 2026.

Craig Lerman, a 35-year-old Baltimore resident, was the first person to arrive at the scene.

Lerman said he initially spotted two sets of bear paw prints, one set noticeably larger than the other. As he continued up the trail, he came across a bloody hat and a watch with a torn strap.

“At first, I thought it might have been a prank, some guys having fun joking around. I’ve come across a lot more people messing around than people torn up,” Lerman told the Chronicle. “It’s something you really never want to come across or see, but when I got up to him, I knew he needed immediate help.”

Lerman said he saw one of the victims, a 28-year-old from Texas, laying on the side of the trail, calling for help.

“He was torn up pretty bad, (and) had flesh next to him,” Lerman wrote.

Although the victim already had 911 on the phone, it was covered in blood, prompting Lerman to switch to his own device.

With no EMT experience or prior bear encounters, Lerman said he was worried about escalating the situation.

“I didn’t want to make anything worse, so I just did as I was told. (I) kept talking to him, kept assuring him help was on the way, (I) got him on his side, and kept giving the police updates on the phone,” he said.

Lerman gave the victim his shirt to keep him warm. He said the victim told him he had discharged a can of bear spray. Without his own canister, Lerman said he was “on the constant lookout” to see if the bear would return.

Lerman sat with the victim until National Park Service emergency personnel arrived at the scene. Initially, two rangers arrived on foot, offering Lerman a jacket, followed by additional emergency services personnel and the lifeflight crews.

Lermain stayed with the 28-year-old victim until he was loaded into a helicopter and airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

The circumstances of the attack have not been disclosed by park officials, and the incident is under active investigation. It was initially unknown whether the attack was by grizzly or black bears.

A Facebook post made by Kathleen Thomas, the grandmother of the victims, identifies them as Texas brothers.

According to another Facebook post made by a friend of the victims’ father, “both boys sustained serious injuries”, were stabilized upon arriving at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, and underwent surgery on May 4.

One of the victims is awake and “starting recovery”, while the other brother will “face additional surgeries once his body has time to heal,” per the post.

Lerman said the brother’s mother was also on the trip, but not on the Mystic Falls Trail.

Temporary closures are west of Grand Loop Road, spanning from the north end of Fountain Flats Drive to Black Sand Basin.

“Wildlife is no joke, you see these things on TV or the news, but when you’re actually fighting for your life to save someone else’s it hits different,” Lerman said. “I’ve never carried spray. I was actually joking with a few people before I hit the trail, saying I’ll just pick up rocks and a big stick, but it’s not a joke.

“We are in these animals’ territory, their homes, and anything can happen.”