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(Tyrrell County, NC) A woman known to her community as a wildlife activist in Tyrrell County, who spent her time working to protect bears, may have been killed by one.
The Tyrrell County sheriff said as their investigation into an unattended death continues, investigators found more human remains at the same site where they made a gruesome discovery on Monday.
Sheriff Darryl Liverman said on Monday his office followed up on a welfare check for someone who lived off U.S. 64, east of Columbia.
Deputies said they believed those remains to be that of 67-year-old Kay Grayson.
Multiple websites credit Grayson with being a wildlife activist with a special love and attention for bears around her home in Tyrrell County.
Friends of Grayson who call her the "Bear Lady" say she had a special love and attention for bears around her home.
Sheriff Liverman said it appeared Grayson may have been dragged into the wooded area by a bear or bears, however the sheriff stopped short of releasing a cause of death, citing the impending Medical Examiner's report.
Friends did note that Grayson was not feeling well the past couple of weeks. Diana Gerres told WITN that Grayson's face looked grey the last time they saw each other.
"She did not look good. It's like she had no blood under her skin," says Diana Gerres. "Her face was very gray."
On Tuesday, the sheriff said deputies teamed up with N.C. Wildlife Commission personnel and the Tyrrell County Emergency Management Coordinator and returned to the site, finding more remains. Those also were sent out to the Medical Examiner's Office in Greenville for further examination.
A photo on ncwiseowl.org, a page linked to the Tyrrell Nature and Recreational website, shows Grayson feeding a bear straight from her hand near her Highway 64 home.
The sheriff noted in the past, both his deputies and officials from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission had taken call from Grayson concerning hunting in that area.
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The Tyrrell County Sheriff's Office is investigating after finding human remains, but does not suspect foul play at this time.
Sheriff Darryl Liverman says on Monday his office conducted a followup welfare check of a resident who lived off U.S. 64 about 12 miles east of Columbia.
Around 3:00 p.m. deputies located human remains believed to be those of 67-year-old Kay Grayson on a logging path before the Alligator River Bridge.
The remains are being sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Greenville for further examination.
Liverman believes the remains have been there more than two weeks.
He says Grayson was last seen anywhere from two weeks to a month ago, but that she was a transient and that wasn't unusual.
The investigation is ongoing.
