Captive bear that killed Ohio man is dead

COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio - The father of a 24-year-old Elyria man who was killed by a captive bear Thursday said the animal is dead.

John Kandra said several relatives on Saturday watched a veterinarian euthanize the bear who attacked his son, Brent, after he opened the animal's cage for a routine feeding.

The bear's owner, Sam Mazzola, had said Kandra's family would decide the fate of the bear. Mazzola's lawyer didn't return a call for comment on Saturday.

Kandra's father described his son as a blond boy who fished his way through childhood in the rivers of northeastern Ohio.

He caught bull frogs and carp big enough to shame the tallest teller of fish tales.

He says his son had returned to tending to Mazzola's exotic animals just weeks before his death.