Alabama woman killed by pack of canines; owner charged with manslaughter

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

Jacqueline Summer time Beard was pronounced useless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents known as the police to report a suspicious vehicle, the sheriff's office stated. Officers found the automobile with Beard's body inside it in a rural area outside Red Bay, near the Mississippi line, based on the Fb post.

Beard is believed to have been making an attempt to contact the dog's proprietor — whom the sheriff's office recognized as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the canines killed her, the sheriff's office 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 Division. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier within the week during which the dogs attacked a woman who was walking. The woman remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, several canines began attacking the residents, inflicting one of them to sustain minor injuries and a few of the dogs to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers then found Beard's body in the car, the sheriff's office stated.

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

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

The Public Health Department didn't instantly reply to a request for comment.