Police say it was a 50-year-old Anchorage man injured in suspected moose attack

Anchorage police on Monday identified the man seriously injured in last week's suspected moose attack as Fred Mayac, a 50-year-old man described by his employer as a talented ivory carver.

Mayac was the man who police said a 911 caller found on an unpaved, private drive in South Anchorage Wednesday evening. He had injuries to his chest, throat and head. He was unresponsive and taken to the hospital, police said.

The official cause of Mayac's injuries changed over the course of a police investigation that spanned two days as Mayac remained hospitalized, unresponsive and in critical condition and authorities were left to decipher clues from circumstantial evidence.

At first, the 911 caller reported that it appeared Mayac was cut by a knife. Later, medical staffers said they suspected a bear had mauled Mayac and biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game killed a black bear Thursday about 100 yards away from where Mayac was found the night before. Then on Friday, Fish and Game said a moose had likely attacked Mayac.

[That suspected bear mauling in South Anchorage? Fish and Game now says it was most likely a moose attack]

Officials had no explanation for why Mayac was in the woods last week, near the private drive. The drive runs off Selkirk Drive, stretching through dense woods. It starts near the Campbell Creek Estuary Natural Area trailhead and ends at a home.

Wayne Hanson, owner of Arctic Bed and Breakfast in Anchorage, said Mayac worked as the night manager and housekeeper for about eight months and also lived there. Hanson said Mayac remained hospitalized Monday.

Hanson said Mayac comes from a family of well-known ivory carvers from King Island, a long-abandoned Bering Sea village.

"He's an extremely talented Native carver," he said.

Anita Shell, Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman, said Monday that police had stopped their investigation into what caused Mayac's injuries.

"It's not a criminal act, so we're not investigating it," she said.

Ken Marsh, a Fish and Game spokesman in Anchorage, said Monday that biologists were confident with their conclusion Friday that a moose had caused Mayac's injuries given the moose hair and tracks in the woods off the private drive. Mayac's injuries were also consistent with those of a moose attack, he said.

Marsh said biologists had not yet spoken with Mayac and could not provide any update on his condition.

Alaska Dispatch News reporter Chris Klint contributed to this story.