A British Columbia woman in her late 70s, possibly mauled to death by a black bear, complained about an aggressive bear trying to get into her house shortly before she died.

The victim was found in the remote outskirts of the small town of Lillooet. Police found her after they searched the area for a missing woman.

A pool of blood, a pair of glasses and a blood-stained jacket covered with animal fur were found along with the remains in a dense wooded area near the woman's home.

The name of the dead woman has not been released and is not expected to be until an autopsy is conducted tomorrow. The autopsy will also officially determine the cause of death to see if the woman wasn't already dead before the mauling.

The woman is a highly-respected elder in the local Xaxli'p First Nations community.

Friends and relatives believe the woman's death could have been prevented.

Bob Adolph, the victim's cousin, said she phoned around complaining about bears trying to get into her house.

"She phoned her daughter and her daughter had phoned asking to check up on her, but nobody did anything," he told CTV British Columbia.

The complaints only made it as far as the local First Nations band and conservation officers were never called until after the woman was found dead.

Four black bears have been caught and killed by wildlife officials, including one who they think dragged the victim away.

"The final bear that we snared (Saturday) evening was within metres of where the remains were found and it fit the description," conservation officer Rod Olsen said. "We're hopeful we have the right animal."

Further tests will determine if one of the bears was involved in the attack.

"We're in the process of finishing off necropsies on them and (we'll) see if we can identify if they're the bears at the site via hair samples, DNA," said Olsen.

Olsen said the remote location suggests there isn't an immediate threat to public safety, noting that such attacks are rare in B.C.

"We've only had two fatal attacks since 2002," he said. Lillooet is in B.C.'s lower mainland, about 240 kilometers east from Vancouver.

But the situation could change later this summer when the Fraser River -- which separates the site of the attack from the town -- drops.

"It's not unusual for bears to swim over into Lillooet," Olsen said.

Olsen said there are two possible reasons for a bear to attack a human. The animal may be defending its territory, food or young, or could be on the hunt.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat