Alabama girl killed by pack of canine; owner charged with manslaughter

An worker of the Alabama Department of Public Well being was killed by a pack of dogs within the northwestern part of the state last week as she was responding to a report about one other attack involving the same canine earlier within the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office mentioned Friday on Fb.

Jacqueline Summer Beard was pronounced lifeless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after native residents referred to as the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's office mentioned. Officers found the automobile with Beard's body inside it in a rural space outside Purple Bay, close to the Mississippi line, in accordance with the Facebook publish.

Beard is believed to have been attempting to contact the canine's proprietor — whom the sheriff's office recognized 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 employee of the Public Health Division. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier in the week by which the dogs attacked a lady who was strolling. The lady remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, a number of canines began attacking the residents, inflicting one in every of them to sustain minor accidents and some of the canines to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers then found Beard's body within the automotive, the sheriff's office mentioned.

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

The Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace couldn't immediately be reached for remark.

The Public Health Division did not instantly respond to a request for comment.