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

An employee of the Alabama Division of Public Well being was killed by a pack of canine within the northwestern a part of the state last week as she was responding to a report about one other attack involving the identical canines earlier in the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace said Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer season Beard was pronounced useless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents called the police to report a suspicious car, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers discovered the automobile with Beard's physique inside it in a rural space outdoors Crimson Bay, near the Mississippi line, in line with the Facebook post.

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

AL.com, the website of several Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime worker of the Public Well being Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier within the week in which the canine attacked a girl who was strolling. The woman stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, several canine began attacking the residents, inflicting considered one of them to maintain minor injuries and among the canines to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers then found Beard's body within the automotive, the sheriff's workplace stated.

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

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

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