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

An worker of the Alabama Division of Public Well being was killed by a pack of canines within the northwestern a part of the state final week as she was responding to a report about one other assault involving the same canines earlier in the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office stated Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer season Beard was pronounced dead Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents called the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers discovered the automobile with Beard's body inside it in a rural area outside Crimson Bay, near the Mississippi line, in line with the Fb publish.

Beard is believed to have been making an attempt to contact the dog's proprietor — whom the sheriff's workplace identified as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the dogs killed her, the sheriff's office said.

AL.com, the website of a number of 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 within the week by which the canine attacked a lady who was strolling. The lady remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, several dogs began attacking the residents, causing one in every of them to maintain minor accidents and some of the canine to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers then found Beard's physique in the car, the sheriff's office 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 Department did not instantly respond to a request for comment.