Rolling Meadows native survives brutal bear attack in Alaska

A Rolling Meadows native is recovering from a brutal attack by a large brown bear in the remote Alaska wilderness, which at one point involved his head being in the bear's mouth, according to ABC News.

Kenny Steck, who grew up in the suburbs but moved to Juneau, Alaska, a few years ago, was camping with friends and family members in Disenchantment Bay, near the town of Yakutat, on May 13 when the attack occurred, according to a story in the Alaska Dispatch News.

An experienced outdoorsman, Steck yelled out to the bear and lifted his leg up to protect himself. But the bear clawed it, ripping through his boot and putting a deep gash in one leg, the Alaska Dispatch News story said.

Steck tried yelling, but the bear crushed his shoulder and put Steck's head in his mouth, Steck told ABC News. When the bear backed away, Steck's friends and wife Hannah, who is a nurse, started to treat the wounds and called for help.

"All I could do was just hope and pray," Steck said in the ABC interview. "It was terrifying."

Attempts to reach Steck on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

"It was a feeling of complete hopelessness and helplessness, really. I felt like I couldn't do anything to make it stop or make the outcome change," he told ABC.

Steck previously served in Iraq with the U.S. Marines, according to a report on KCAW Radio.

He also studied at Alaska Pacific University, according to one of his social media profiles.

"For some reason, it wasn't my time to die," he told the Alaska Dispatch News. "I don't know why that is, but I feel like God has a plan for me."