Cinder the Bear found dead in Washington

When Cinder the Bear arrived in South Lake Tahoe on August 4, 2014 the prognosis wasn't a good one. The 18-month old black bear had been severely burned in the Carlton Complex Fire in Washington and weighed in at just 39 pounds, about half of what a cub her age should be.

The story of her determination and recovery won the hearts of many around the globe and now she is dead.

Back in 2014 Cinder had crawled to a home on her knees and elbows two weeks after fire had swept through the area. Her paws were burned too badly to use them to walk on. Cinder was flown to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care where Dr. Kevin Willetts tended to her, bandaged her wounds and put her in the hands of the popular South Shore rehabilitation center.

Cinder gained international attention not only because of the circumstances surrounding her being brought to South Lake Tahoe, but because of her full recovery.

She was released by Dr. Willetts' care on September 30, 2014 and shortly thereafter transported from Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care to Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation near Boise where she spent the winter gaining weight and strengthening her body. Cinder was then released from the Idaho facility in June of 2015 with another cub, Kaulana.

Sadly, Kaulana shot by a hunter in October of 2015.

In February of 2017 state wildlife officials checked on Cinder in her den at the 5,000-foot elevation of the Cascades. She was of normal weight and appeared healthy. They replaced her GPS radio collar.

It stopped transmitting in October 2017. Officials thought she might be denning and placed a camera where the signal was in hopes of seeing Cinder and possibly cubs. They wanted to return in spring 2018 to retrieve the camera but smoke and a heavy winter kept them away until this past September 2018.

According to Ann McCreary of the Methow Valley News, instead of a camera they found Cinder's remains at the site and estimate she'd been killed by a hunter at the time the GPS stopped transmitting. Her collar had been cut.

"We’re saddened to hear this update about Cinder - she was an inspiration to all involved," said Denise Upton, animal care director at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, Inc. on the group's Facebook page.

The story of Cinder was captured in a book by Barbara deRubertis in 2015: Cinder the Bear, A True Story of Rescue, Recovery, Rehabilitation and Return.