First fatal New Mexico bear mauling since 2001 followed state wildlife warning
Relatives of Benjamin Halona, 67, said on Monday that the New Mexico man fatally mauled by a bear inside his home on August 20 had served the Navajo Nation as a wildland firefighter and was a beloved local tamale vendor.
“He was a really strong person,” his sister, Gloria Halona, said in a telephone interview. “And, even though he didn’t have a lot, he was happy.”
Gloria and her daughter, Samantha Vandever, provided new details about the August 20 attack that killed Halona in the Navajo Nation community of Crystal, New Mexico. They said Halona, a widower grappling with health problems that required a walker and a wheelchair, had stayed behind at home while his stepson, Casey, went to the post office. Casey had come into Halona’s life through his wife, Bernadine, who died in February from illness.
According to Gloria and Samantha, Casey heard Halona lock the front door before leaving. When Casey returned, the door was ajar and a bear was inside. Casey locked himself in his room, barricaded the door with a dresser and other heavy items, hid in a closet crawlspace, and used a cellphone to dial for emergency help. He also called Gloria and Samantha.
Samantha said she drove to the home and honked the horn at the bear at her mother’s behest. The bear fled, and a Navajo Nation police officer shot and killed the animal, according to the two women. The mother and daughter then entered the home and found what they described as a “horrific scene.” The fact that Halona’s walker remained undisturbed in his room led the family to wonder whether he had heard something at the front door and unlocked it, mistakenly believing it was Casey struggling to get back inside.
“It was a lot for us,” Samantha said.
A Navajo Nation police spokesperson on Monday declined to discuss the case, citing the agency’s earlier statement that a bear had killed a man in Crystal, fled into nearby woods, and been shot by police. That statement had also extended condolences to the man’s family.
There had not been a recorded fatal bear mauling in New Mexico since 2001, according to a comprehensive list of ursine attacks. The 2001 attack had been the first fatal case in the state in roughly a century, the AP reported.
The latest mauling came eight days after New Mexico wildlife officials had cautioned the public about “an increase in the number of bears involved in human-bear conflict throughout [the state] in 2026.” The officials urged residents to avoid leaving garbage and fallen or rotten fruit outside amid severe drought conditions that New Mexico was experiencing.
The relatives noted that the Navajo people regard bears as sacred, and the community response to Halona’s death reflected that the tribe had lost both a member and a spiritual animal.
Gloria and Samantha said Halona’s survivors — two siblings, four children, five stepchildren, 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild — had drawn comfort from the attendance at community memorials and at funeral services held on August 29.
“He endured a lot in his life — especially during his death,” Vandever said of her uncle. “And we’re all heartbroken that this had to happen to him.”
Gloria remembered her brother as fiercely proud of his career as a wildland firefighter for the Navajo Nation and known to friends and family by the nicknames Ponjo, Mountain Man and Tamale Man. She spoke at length about his fandom of the Grammy-winning country singer Waylon Jennings, who had traveled to Navajo Nation months before his February 2002 death to perform at a fair.
Family members arranged a brief meeting between Halona and Jennings, which was photographed and saw the two sing “Love of the Common People” together.
“Jennings complimented Halona by telling him that he sounded better than country legend Willie Nelson,” Gloria said. She added: “That was probably the happiest moment of Benjamin’s life.”