Alabama lady killed by pack of canines; proprietor charged with manslaughter

An employee of the Alabama Department of Public Health was killed by a pack of canines in the northwestern part of the state final week as she was responding to a report about one other attack involving the same canines earlier in the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office mentioned Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer season Beard was pronounced dead Friday by the Franklin County coroner after native residents known as the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers discovered the automotive with Beard's physique inside it in a rural space outside Pink Bay, close to the Mississippi line, in keeping with the Facebook put up.

Beard is believed to have been trying to contact the dog's owner — whom the sheriff's office identified as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the canines killed her, the sheriff's office stated.

AL.com, the website of a number of Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime employee of the Public Health Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier within the week during which the canines attacked a woman who was strolling. The lady stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, a number of dogs started attacking the residents, causing considered one of them to sustain minor accidents and a number of the canines to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers then found Beard's physique in the automotive, the sheriff's workplace mentioned.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held with out bail, public records show.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office couldn't instantly be reached for remark.

The Public Well being Division did not immediately respond to a request for comment.