Alabama woman killed by pack of dogs; proprietor charged with manslaughter

An worker of the Alabama Department of Public Well being was killed by a pack of dogs in the northwestern part of the state last week as she was responding to a report about one other assault involving the identical canine earlier in the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace stated Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer season Beard was pronounced useless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after native residents referred to as the police to report a suspicious car, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers found the automobile with Beard's body inside it in a rural space outdoors Purple Bay, near the Mississippi line, according to the Facebook submit.

Beard is believed to have been making an attempt to contact the canine's proprietor — 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 several 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 in which the canine attacked a girl who was walking. The girl stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, several dogs started attacking the residents, causing one in every of them to sustain minor injuries and among the canines to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's office mentioned. Officers then found Beard's physique in the automotive, the sheriff's workplace stated.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held with out bail, public records present.

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

The Public Health Division did not instantly reply to a request for remark.