Dead murderer's corpse partially eaten by bear in Canada

Convicted killer was already dead on a remote logging trail when the bear found his body, police say

A man whose dead body was eaten by a bear in Canada has been identified as a convicted murderer, according to local media reports.

Rory Nelson Wagner, of British Columbia, was on day parole when he went missing from a halfway house on May 23. He had been serving a life sentence handed down in 1994 for murdering a man he believed had sexually assaulted a family member.

Authorities believe the 53-year-old was already dead when a bear came across his lifeless body and dragged it from a vehicle close to the small town of Kamloops.

Mounties noted muddy paw prints and scratches on the abandoned car

"The bear approached this vehicle and actually physically removed the person from inside the vehicle," conservation officer Darcy MacPhee told broadcaster CTV.

The cause of Wagner's death is not known. His car was found on a logging road in a forest, about two kilometres from the nearest home.

Police are now seeking to find the bear that ate the body. Two bears have been captured, and samples of hair and tooth imprints are being used to see if the culprit can be identified. If a positive match is made the bear will be killed.