Robert said:
I hardly believe such a story. There is so much power difference between a bear and a teenager. The only way to survive would be (and I don't even know if it would be enough) to punch his noise and break a bone. Other than that, you're just history.
More than likely the bear got tired of playing with him and went off to do what bears do in the woods. Johnny McCoy got attacked and mauled by a female Grizzly when he and another hunter stumbled across her on a hunting trip, and she had cubs with her. Your best option is usually to play dead, which he did.
Shooting one isn't always a great option, as their circulatory system is so slow, it can take them a long time to bleed out and die. Their skulls are ridiculously thick, as the .44 Magnum slug found embedded in the skull of a bear that was killed by a hunter (using a rifle) will testify to.
As for being near a populated area, Alaska is a mishmash of
rural and urban, with little in between. I live just outside the city of North Pole, but walk towards the back end of my property, cross the water, and you can walk without seeing another human being until you hit the North Slope. Moose regularly run through here, and bear tracks have been found by the water that borders my property, just a couple of hundred feet away at most.