Otter attack suspect spotted in Washington State

An otter suspected to be involved in an attack was spotted with its pups in Pilchuck River Tuesday. An 8-year-old boy and his grandmother were involved in an otter attack in the river last Thursday.

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Mark Mulligan/The Herald/AP
Signs warn swimmers to stay out of the Pilchuck River east of Lake Stevens after an attack last Thursday by an otter. An eight-year-old boy and his grandmother were involved in the otter attack.

An otter believed to be the one that attacked an 8-year-old boy and his grandmother was spotted in the Pilchuck River.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Department spokesman Craig Bartlett says it was seen Tuesday with pups in the river. He says agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services are trying to trap the otter and pups.

A 4-foot otter bit and scratched Bryce Moser and his grandmother Lelani Grove last Thursday as they swam in the river near Lake Stevens. Both suffered numerous injuries as she rescued him from the water.

Wildlife officials said if the otter was a male it would be killed, but a female with pups would be relocated.

Bartlett says, "We know where they are. Getting into the trap is another issue."

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