Alabama woman killed by pack of canine; proprietor charged with manslaughter

An employee of the Alabama Division of Public Health was killed by a pack of canines in the northwestern part of the state last week as she was responding to a report about another assault involving the identical canines earlier in the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace mentioned Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer time Beard was pronounced dead Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents referred to as the police to report a suspicious vehicle, the sheriff's workplace said. Officers discovered the automobile with Beard's physique inside it in a rural space outside Crimson Bay, near the Mississippi line, based on the Facebook submit.

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

AL.com, the web site of several Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime worker of the Public Well being Division. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier in the week wherein the canines attacked a lady who was walking. The woman stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, several canines began attacking the residents, causing one in every of them to maintain minor injuries and among the canines to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's office mentioned. Officers then found Beard's body within the car, the sheriff's workplace said.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held without bail, public information show.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Public Well being Department didn't immediately respond to a request for remark.