I believe that they should have been hunting with a guide because they didn't know what they were doing.
Grizzlies and Black Bears are easy to tell apart.
A kill shot wasn't made on the bear in the first place.
AND they NEVER should have gone into *thick cover* after the bear.
A guide would have, or at least should have, prevented this from happening from the very start when they misidentified the bear.
He (or she) would also have known how to track a wounded bear (BAD NEWS BEAR, btw) without putting everyone in mortal danger.
I was a deer processor in a previous life
and have seen MANY deer that looked like someone used an Uzi on them.
People think they are out there to *shoot a deer*, or in this case a bear, but don't seem to have the slightest idea of how to kill a deer cleanly. They actually think that if you shoot something it will die and a 7mm Magnum will kill anything if you can just hit it.
A guide would have made sure that they knew where the shot needed to be placed before they ever hit the woods and, hopefully, would have stressed that you don't squeeze the trigger UNTIL you have THE shot.
As ALWAYS - It's ALL about SHOT PLACEMENT -