An Alaska deer hunter was found dead after killing a brown bear, officials say.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A 50-year-old hunter was found dead after being mauled by a brown bear on an island in southeast Alaska, authorities said Thursday.

Tad Fujioka of Sitka was reported overstaying his time Tuesday night after failing to return from a daylong hunting trip to heavily forested Baranof Island, Alaska State Troopers said.

Fujioka’s body was discovered Wednesday by state wildlife officials, the U.S. Coast Guard and Sitka search and rescue teams. The bears apparently tore Fujioka to pieces and ate the deer he killed.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted three brown bears in the area of ​​the deer’s death and alerted teams searching on the ground, police spokesman Tim DeSpain said in an email to The Associated Press.

DeSpain said officers and Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials searched for the bears until dark but did not find them. Fujioka’s body was discovered and the family was notified.