Tisch Schmidt-Williams

Tisch Schmidt-Williams helped rescue Keri Bergere from an attacking cougar, Fall City, Washington, February 17, 2024. Bergere, 60, was riding her bicycle along with her cycling team on a remote, forest trail when a cougar jumped onto her back, pushed her off her bicycle onto the ground, and bit into her jaw. A retired botanical gardener, 64, was riding about 200 feet behind Bergere with another cycling teammate, 59, real estate broker, and witnessed the cougar attack. The retired teammate and the real estate broker screamed and immediately biked over to Bergere on the ground, alerting two other cycling teammates, an attorney, 51, and Schmidt-Williams, 58, health care IT salesperson. As the retired teammate approached Bergere, she immediately jumped on the cougar and attempted to choke it with her hands. The real estate broker arrived almost at the same time and was able to pull the cougar’s hind legs off Bergere. The two women called out for their teammates up ahead to call 911 and to bring rocks and sticks to help battle the cougar. Schmidt-Williams ran over with a rock and a few sticks and began to beat and stab the cougar in the stomach area. With her bike, the attorney went to the scene while attempting to call 911, but the call dropped in the remote area. She dropped her phone and bicycle, retrieved a stick, and began stabbing the cougar. The retired teammate was able to pull one of the cougar’s paws off Bergere and stick her hand into its mouth hoping to pry open its jaws so that it would release its hold on Bergere. For 15 minutes, the four women battled with the cougar by kicking it, pulling its legs, stabbing it with the saw blade of a multi-tool and sticks, and hitting it with rocks, all in a joint attempt to get the animal to release Bergere. At some point as the cougar began to readjust its bite, the retired teammate shouted for Bergere to move away as the real estate broker pulled the cougar’s head back. As Bergere rolled away, the attorney almost simultaneously picked up her bicycle and the four women worked together to pin the cougar to the ground with it. The women then stood on the bicycle for another 30 minutes until a fish and wildlife officer arrived to kill the cougar. Bergere was taken to a hospital for multiple jaw fractures, facial nerve damage, and lacerations on her face, ears, neck, shoulders, arms, and back. Schmidt-Williams suffered a few bruises, but was otherwise uninjured.