Boy, 4, Recovering From Cougar Attack

Thu., Aug. 26, 1999

From Staff

A 4-year-old Kettle Falls boy was recovering Wednesday from head, throat and shoulder wounds he suffered when a cougar mauled him at a rural home in Ferry County.

Jacob Walsh and a 5-year-old cousin were playing in their grandparents’ yard just off U.S.

Highway 395, a mile south of Barstow and 11 miles northwest of Kettle Falls, when a cougar attacked him Tuesday afternoon.

The cougar was starting to pull Jacob into the woods when an aunt scared it off.

Jacob remained in fair condition Wednesday at Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville, but a spokeswoman said his condition was improving.

The young male cougar remained near the scene of the attack and was shot to death by a state wildlife officer.

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