A2
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2019
Trail runner recounts life-or-death fi ght with cougar
He jammed foot
into cat’s neck
By P. SOLOMON BANDA
Associated Press
FORT COLLINS, Colo.
— When a young mountain
lion clamped its jaws onto
Travis Kauffman’s wrist
and clawed at his face, he
screamed a “barbarian yell,”
jammed his foot onto the ani-
mal’s neck and held it there
until the cat quit thrashing
and died.
After a couple of min-
utes, Kauffmann recalled, “it
fi nally stopped moving and
then the jaws opened and I
was able to kind of scramble
back up the hill and get the
heck out of Dodge.”
Through it all, the
31-year-old trail runner said,
the cat remained eerily silent.
It was the fi rst time Kauff-
man publicly recounted the
Feb. 4 ordeal that left him
with 28 stitches and a reputa-
tion for toughness and brav-
ery that overshadows his
wiry frame.
“I will never be able to
live up to the reputation,”
said Kauffman, who stands
5-foot-10 and weighs about
155 pounds (70 kilograms).
“The story is bigger than my
puny form.”
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Travis Kauff man, front, responds to questions during a news conference Thursday about his
encounter with a mountain lion while running a trail just west of Fort Collins, Colo., this month.
‘I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO LIVE UP TO THE REPUTATION.
THE STORY IS BIGGER THAN MY PUNY FORM.’
Travis Kauffman
Kauffman said he was
running a trail in the moun-
tains west of Fort Collins,
Colorado, when he heard
pine needles rustle behind
him. He turned to see the
mountain lion about 10 feet
away.
“One of my worst fears
was confi rmed,” he said.
That cat lunged, and
Kauffman raised his hands
and screamed.
The animal locked its teeth
onto his wrist and they tum-
bled off the side of the trail.
Authorities seek ID for woman
found dead near Lincoln City
Associated Press
LINCOLN CITY —
The Oregon State Police is
asking for the public’s help
to identify the body of a
woman found in the Pacifi c
Ocean near Lincoln City.
Domestic assault
• Cash Reynolds, 24, of Pe
Ell, Washington, was arrested
by Seaside p olice early Sat-
urday near Fifth Avenue and
Downing Street on one count
each of fourth-degree assault
and disorderly conduct after
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
State shellfi sh managers
have tentatively scheduled
razor clam digs on ocean
beaches for 12 days starting
Mar. 16 and extending into
late April.
Of these, only two addi-
tional days are scheduled for
the Long Beach and Ocean
Park area — on April 20 and
April 21 in connection with
the Razor Clam Festival.
Final approval will
depend on whether results
of marine toxin tests show
the clams are safe to eat.
The Washington Depart-
ment of Fish and Wild-
life typically announces
whether a dig will go for-
ward about a week before
the opening, said Dan Ayres,
coastal shellfi sh manager
for the department.
Ayres noted the fi rst three
digs in March are on eve-
ning low tides, while those
that follow are on morning
low tides.
a domestic disturbance.
DUII
• Janet Theus, 32, of War-
renton, was arrested Satur-
day by the Clatsop County
Sheriff’s Offi ce at 1480 S.E.
Ninth St. in Warrenton on one
count of driving while under
the infl uence of intoxicants.
• Daniel Salenski, 39, of
Seaside, was arrested Sun-
day along U.S. Highway
30 by the s heriff’s o ffi ce on
one count of DUII and two
counts of second-degree fail-
ure to appear.
DEATHS
Feb. 15, 2019
COFFEY, Myrtle A., 81, of Asto-
ria, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
New clamming days possible in Long Beach
Chinook Observer
1990, Parks and Wildlife
said. Three of the attacks
were fatal.
A necropsy report said
the lion that attacked Kauff-
man was male, four or fi ve
months old, weighing 35 to
40 pounds. The cat had lim-
ited fat, indicating it was
hungry but not starving. It
showed no sign of rabies
or other diseases, the report
said, but many of its organs
had been scavenged by other
animals before the body was
recovered.
Adult male mountain
lions average about 150
pounds, Parks and Wildlife
said.
Petersburg said offi cers
set up cameras and traps
in the area for several days
after the attack. They saw
no large mountain lions but
captured two young ones in
good health. He said both
are in a rehabilitation cen-
ter, and the agency hopes to
release them back into the
wild.
Kauffman, an environ-
mental consultant, described
himself as an avid runner,
cyclist and skier who has a
pet cat at home. He said he
doesn’t plan to retreat from
the outdoors.
“I will go run those trails
again,” he said, but added, “I
will go with a buddy there.”
ON THE RECORD
She is about 5 feet and
7 inches tall and weighs
around 200 pounds
The state police asks
anyone who knows of a
missing woman who meets
that description to call
authorities.
The state police said
authorities recovered the
woman’s body around 5 p.m.
Sunday from a cove just
north of a unique coastal fea-
ture called “God’s Thumb.”
The woman is white,
with long dark brown hair.
A wave of fear rolled over
him, he said, and he worried
that the animal’s full-grown
mother would join the attack
to defend her offspring. But
no other cat appeared.
Fear then gave way to the
fi ghting instinct, he said.
Kauffman grabbed a rock
with his free hand and beat
the cat on the back of the
head. He also tried stabbing
it with twigs, but nothing
worked.
“I knew with two pretty
good blows to the back
of the head (and) it didn’t
release, that I was probably
going to have to do some-
thing a little more drastic,”
he said. “I was able to kind
of shift my weight and get
a foot on its neck” until it
succumbed.
Bleeding from his face
and wrist, he jogged back
down the trail, where he met
other runners who got him
to a hospital.
“I was just thankful that
he had his eyes and his fi n-
gers and all his parts, and
it didn’t look as bad as I
maybe would have thought
that it could,” said his girl-
friend, Annie Bierbower.
Colorado Parks and
Wildlife offi cers retrieved
the dead cat. They said their
investigation and a necropsy
confi rmed
Kauffman’s
account.
“Travis is a pretty amaz-
ing young man,” said Ty
Petersburg, a wildlife man-
ager for the agency.
Kauffman was the 22nd
person attacked by a moun-
tain lion in Colorado since
No digging is allowed
before noon during evening
digs and digging must be
completed by noon during
morning digs.
The Department of
Fish and Wildlife will con-
sider additional dates later
this spring if enough clams
remain available for harvest,
Ayres said. However, the
department has been cut-
ting back on digs in May to
avoid possible disturbance
of nesting endangered west-
ern snowy plovers.
Feb. 13, 2019
SHELLABARGER, Stephen, 79, of
Astoria, died in Astoria. Hughes-Ran-
som Mortuary is in charge of the
arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Port of Astoria Commission,
4 p.m., Port offi ces, 10 Pier 1
Suite 209.
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, 5:15 p.m.,
Bob Chisholm Communi-
ty Center, 1225 Avenue A,
Seaside.
Cannon Beach City Council,
5:30 p.m., work session, goal
setting, City Hall, 163 E. Gower
St.
Seaside School District
Board of Directors, 6 p.m.,
1801 S. Franklin.
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Shoreline Sanitary District
Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Hertig
Station, 33496 West Lake Lane,
Warrenton.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
Saturday’s Powerball: 29-30-
41-48-64, Powerball: 1
Estimated jackpot: $282
million
Friday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 7-4-5-0
4 p.m.: 1-2-4-3
7 p.m.: 8-0-1-6
10 p.m.: 3-4-6-4
Friday’s Lucky Lines: 2-5-9-
13-18-24-28-32
Estimated jackpot: $48,000
Friday’s Mega Millions: 10-
38-40-43-65, Mega Ball: 12
Estimated jackpot: $206
million
WASHINGTON
Sunday’s Daily Game: 9-8-7
Sunday’s Keno: 02-03-04-06-
08-09-11-22-34-41-43-44-48-
53-57-67-69-70-73-78
Sunday’s Match 4: 06-12-18-
20
Saturday’s Daily Game: 5-9-4
Saturday’s Hit 5: 08-10-21-
27-37
Estimated jackpot: $270,000
Saturday’s Keno: 07-08-14-
18-28-31-35-40-44-51-53-57-
59-60-63-66-73-77-79-80
Saturday’s Lotto: 10-36-37-
46-47-49
Estimated jackpot: $4.4 million
Saturday’s Match 4: 02-12-
19-24
Friday’s Daily Game: 5-3-5
Friday’s Keno: 19-20-21-23-
25-29-32-37-39-41-47-50-55-
58-61-71-72-74-77-80
Friday’s Match 4: 02-04-11-22
WEDNESDAY
Seaside Tourism Advisory
Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Astoria City Council, 1 p.m.,
work session, goal setting, City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
47
39
37
Mostly cloudy with a
passing shower
Periods of sun with a
shower; chilly
ALMANAC
Last
New
Feb 26
Salem
34/45
Newport
36/46
Coos Bay
34/47
First
Mar 6
Mar 14
La Grande
18/33
Baker
15/33
Ontario
20/37
Burns
12/30
Roseburg
33/46
Klamath Falls
12/33
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
6:57 a.m.
7:42 p.m.
Low
2.0 ft.
-1.3 ft.
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
30
34
50
46
46
34
45
44
46
49
Today
Lo
15
19
34
33
39
12
26
33
36
34
W
sf
sf
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
33
37
50
45
47
33
43
44
46
48
Tues.
Lo
26
28
39
36
40
23
35
36
38
39
W
sn
sf
c
c
pc
pc
sf
pc
pc
sh
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
44
30
44
45
47
46
22
46
43
32
Today
Lo
33
21
35
33
34
38
8
32
35
17
W
pc
sf
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
43
35
44
46
45
47
24
45
44
31
Tues.
Lo
31
30
36
39
36
40
16
37
37
23
W
pc
sn
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
W
c
sn
sf
sn
c
c
s
c
pc
c
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
r
c
pc
c
pc
s
pc
c
Hi
46
31
30
21
20
29
49
20
80
34
29
47
58
42
84
48
68
36
33
40
37
28
55
44
42
Tues.
Lo
38
17
25
10
17
19
29
-3
63
30
25
32
42
40
70
42
62
26
24
27
30
20
42
37
32
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
r
s
c
sn
c
s
pc
c
sh
s
sn
s
s
r
pc
r
c
s
sn
s
c
pc
s
pc
s
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
LOTTERIES
OREGON
Sunday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 7-0-8-6
4 p.m.: 6-6-3-7
7 p.m.: 8-0-9-2
10 p.m.: 6-2-0-2
Sunday’s Lucky Lines: 1-6-11-
15-20-21-28-29
Estimated jackpot: $51,000
Saturday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m: 2-4-3-0
4 p.m.: 3-9-5-1
7 p.m.: 1-3-1-8
10 p.m.: 8-6-8-7
Saturday’s Lucky Lines: 4-8-
11-13-18-22-28-31
Estimated jackpot: $49,000
Saturday’s Megabucks: 1-12-
22-26-39-48
Estimated jackpot: $8.3 million
Lakeview
9/30
Ashland
25/44
REGIONAL CITIES
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Hi
58
36
28
19
20
27
64
25
80
32
26
49
60
45
86
44
60
45
38
49
34
33
56
44
50
John Day
21/34
Bend
19/37
Medford
26/43
UNDER THE SKY
Today
Lo
42
18
16
9
2
11
36
13
65
19
17
35
38
32
70
30
56
23
26
26
23
20
39
36
32
Prineville
20/38
Lebanon
33/44
Brookings
34/50
Tonight's Sky: Clyde Tombaugh discovers dwarf
planet Pluto in 1930.
High
8.6 ft.
10.1 ft.
Pendleton
21/35
The Dalles
27/39
Portland
35/44
Eugene
33/45
Sunset tonight ........................... 5:45 p.m.
Sunrise Tuesday .......................... 7:13 a.m.
Moonrise today .......................... 4:48 p.m.
Moonset today ............................ 6:52 a.m.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
Mostly cloudy, a little
rain; chilly
Mostly sunny and chilly
Tillamook
37/46
SUN AND MOON
Time
1:17 a.m.
12:48 p.m.
Cloudy and chilly with a
couple of showers
46
40
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
37/47
Precipitation
Sunday ............................................. 0.02"
Month to date ................................... 6.08"
Normal month to date ....................... 4.46"
Year to date .................................... 11.01"
Normal year to date ........................ 14.66"
Feb 19
FRIDAY
48
34
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Sunday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 46°/30°
Normal high/low ........................... 52°/37°
Record high ............................ 67° in 1941
Record low ............................. 25° in 1985
Full
THURSDAY
47
32
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Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at DailyAstorian.com/forms/obits,
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Eff ective July 1, 2015
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