Alabama girl killed by pack of dogs; owner charged with manslaughter

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

Jacqueline Summer season Beard was pronounced useless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after native residents known as the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's office stated. Officers discovered the automobile with Beard's physique inside it in a rural area exterior Pink Bay, near the Mississippi line, according to the Facebook post.

Beard is believed to have been making an attempt to contact the dog's owner — whom the sheriff's office identified as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the canine killed her, the sheriff's office stated.

AL.com, the website of a number of Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime employee of the Public Health Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier in the week by which the dogs attacked a woman who was strolling. The lady stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, several dogs started attacking the residents, causing one in every of them to maintain minor accidents and a number of the canines to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's office stated. Officers then discovered Beard's body in the automobile, the sheriff's workplace said.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held without bail, public records present.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office could not immediately be reached for remark.

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