ANCHORAGE — Two hikers are recovering from injuries after they were attacked by a moose in an Anchorage park.
Melanie Sandstrom and Catherine Dwinnell had been hiking in Kincaid Park on Friday when the moose charged them. Sandstrom suffered three cracked ribs and puncture wounds, while Dwinell was left with a broken wrist, a gash on her skin and broken ribs, KTUU-TV reported (http://bit.ly/1PeHZKV).
“An instant I saw the body of the moose hit me full force and Catherine was right beside me,” said Sandstrom. “In a moment I was on the ground and it was just stomping on my back and on my head.”
After the moose knocked them and Dwinnell’s dog to the ground, Sandstrom said they used clothes to bandage the cut on Dwinnell’s shin and started yelling for help.
Sandstrom said they encountered several people who stopped to offer them aid, including a pilot who told the 911 operator their location.
“It was just a series of people stopping and giving us water and covering us with everything they had to keep us warm, and just comforting us,” Sandstrom said.
The two hikers were taken to a hospital and have since been released.
While Dwinnell was hospitalized, family and friends returned to the park to look for her dog, named Molni, but were unable to find the animal.
“I’m hoping she will hear my voice and come because the dog has been spotted a couple of times in this area,” said Dwinell, who returned to Kincaid after getting out of the hospital to look for her dog. “Poor Molni, I feel so bad for her she has been out here for three nights on her own.”
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