CHIGNIK LAKE, Alaska — An autopsy Thursday in Anchorage concluded a former Slippery Rock woman was killed in an animal attack. Meanwhile, those who knew her in Butler County and in Alaska are dealing with her death.

Candice Berner, 32, of Perryville, Alaska, was killed Monday night as she was jogging along a gravel road leading to the Chignik Lake airstrip. The community is 450 miles southwest of Anchorage. Berner was a teacher of special education students.

The autopsy confirmed Berner died from injuries sustained in an animal attack. The state medical examiner ruled the death accidental.

"After conferring with state biologists and the community of Chignik Lake, it has been concluded that the animals most likely responsible for the attack are wolves," according to a statement Thursday from the Alaska State Troopers. The investigation is closed, authorities said.

Patrick Grant, a professor of special education at Slippery Rock University, was saddened by the death of Berner.

"I never thought (wolves) would attack a human being like that," he said. "How do you rationalize someone that young? It's just hard to deal with it."

Grant knew Berner as a student and graduate student at SRU. He was the adviser to the Council of Exceptional Children, of which she was a member, and had worked with her father, a retired SRU professor.

Berner left Slippery Rock for Alaska in August.

Rick Luthi of the Lake and Peninsula Borough School District in King Salmon, Alaska, said Berner had been to the Chignik Lake school many times. He said her last visit started Monday.

"Candice was a gymnast, it was very important early in her life. Like her father said, she was small but mighty," Luthi said.

He said the staff and students in kindergarten to high school loved working with and being around Berner.

"She adapted to our environment," Luthi said. " She was one of those special people who embraced it."

She liked to get outside and exercise when the weather was nice, he said. That is likely what she was doing after school Monday.

"In the short amount of time she was with us she had a deep impact on people's lives," he said.

The SRU education department is close knit and followed Berner's progress, Grant said. When he learned she moved to Alaska, he said he thought it fitting for someone who loved the outdoors so much.

"We thought this was a good adventure for her," he said.

Berner was looking to get her doctorate in education, Grant said. She applied to several out-of-state schools.

"She was outgoing. Very warm, very friendly," Grand said of Berner.

He and the other members of the department who are on spring break this week, got a call from the department secretary informing them of the death.

He said he now is struggling with questions about what Berner was doing in her final hours.

The Alaska State Troopers and the state Department of Fish and Game are now trying to address that in Chignik Lake.

A helicopter of officials from both agencies was dispatched to the community Thursday night to hold a town meeting. Residents have expressed concern that a pack of wolves is coming too close to the village.

Eagle staff writer Craig Keener contributed to this report.