Bear from movies turns on handler in Calif., killing him

Two women at the center's office declined to comment or give their names and asked a reporter to leave immediately. Randy Miller did not return calls left on his cell phone.

Just up a rutted dirt road, Matt Wilson, 18, said Randy Miller came to his parents' house after the attack for comfort. Wilson said Miller told the family they had been filming an advertisement when the bear attacked.

"They were filming it and the bear started licking his (Stephan Miller's) face and then all of a sudden it just bit him," Wilson said. "He was just really upset and didn't know why it happened."

Pepper spray was used to subdue and contain the bear, and there were no other injuries, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said. Paramedics arriving shortly after the initial emergency call around 3 p.m. were unable to revive Stephan Miller.

The state Department of Fish and Game investigated but will not decide whether the bear will be euthanized because the attack occurred outside its jurisdiction on a private site, Morse said.

State occupational safety officials were sending an investigator to determine whether they have jurisdiction, said Kate McGuire, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Industrial Relations.

The Sheriff's Department was conducting a death investigation, but it is not a criminal probe, said spokeswoman Jodi Miller, who is not related to Randy or Stephan Miller.

The center had its permits and was up to code, so it will be up to the owner to determine what becomes of the bear, the spokeswoman said.

The center also houses two brown bears and a black bear, along with various snakes and reptiles, an alligator, crocodile, leopard, a mountain lion, four African lions and four tigers.

Friends of the Millers praised Randy Miller as a top-class trainer dedicated to safety and the care of his animals. Stephan Miller was also an experienced trainer, said Chemaine Almquist, founder of an exotic animal center in Phelan called Forever Wild and a close friend of the Millers.