Hiker’s Smart Watch Reveals What Happened in His Final Moments After He Was Dragged into Forest and Killed by Bear By Kimberlee Speakman 20

New details have emerged about the hiker who was attacked and killed by a brown bear in Japan in August — all due to his GPS smart watch.

The man — identified by NHK as 26-year-old Sota Keisuke — had been hiking on Mount Rausu in the Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido on Aug. 14 when the animal attacked and dragged him into a forest.

A search party for Keisuke was sent out the following day, after his friend, who had been with him at the time, reported the attack. Searchers found a piece of a shirt that may have belonged to the victim and his wallet, before eventually finding the man in the afternoon.

Keisuke was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities recovered Keisuke’s GPS watch following the attack, which provided some more insight into what happened. The data recovered showed that the watch deviated from the Mount Rausu hiking trail and went down a forested slope at around 11 a.m. local time on Aug. 14, according to Japanese outlet Asahi Shimbun.

The watch then trembled before circling repeatedly over the same spot in an area of thick brush. The data also revealed that the man likely died about 109 to 142 yards away from the trail, as that was when it was recorded that his heart stopped beating, per the outlet.

The watch then stayed in the same spot all night before moving again the next day at around 9 a.m., traveling several hundred yards through the brush, which suggests that the bear returned to drag the man’s body away, Asahi Shimbun reported.

Related Stories

Hiker Tried to Fight Off Bear Before Being Dragged into Forest, Friend Says. His Body Was Just Found

Man, 89, Confirmed as First Victim of Fatal Black Bear Attack in Florida History After Remains Found Inside Animal

According to the news outlet, a search and rescue team found Keisuke’s body being dragged by a mother bear as she was flanked by two of her bear cubs. All three brown bears were killed on the scene. Other traces of the man’s remains were found in an earth mound about 109 yards away from where the bears were killed, per the outlet.

Keisuke’s body was recovered and returned to the Shari Police Station in Hokkaido, where his parents positively identified him. Police officers reportedly advised the man’s parents to “look only at his face” due to the extent of his injuries.

Following the attack, authorities closed the mountain trail, The Japan Times reported. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Officials with the Hokkaido prefectural government said the Aug. 14 incident was the first recorded bear attack in the Shiretoko Mountain Range, which includes Mount Rausu, in 63 years, according to The Japan News.

Since April, at least 13 people have been killed, and more than 100 others have been injured, in bear attacks in Japan, according to Al Jazeera, which cited an October report from the Ministry of Environment.