Alabama girl killed by pack of canines; proprietor 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 assault involving the identical canines earlier within the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office stated Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer time Beard was pronounced useless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after native residents referred to as the police to report a suspicious vehicle, the sheriff's workplace said. Officers found the automotive with Beard's body inside it in a rural area outdoors Purple Bay, near the Mississippi line, according to the Fb put up.

Beard is believed to have been attempting to contact the canine's owner — whom the sheriff's office recognized as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the canines killed her, the sheriff's office stated.

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 Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier in the week during which the dogs attacked a lady who was walking. The woman stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, a number of dogs began attacking the residents, causing one in every of them to sustain minor accidents and among the canines to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers then discovered Beard's physique in the car, the sheriff's workplace mentioned.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held with out bail, public data show.

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

The Public Well being Division didn't instantly respond to a request for remark.