A black bear spotted by Demorest Elementary School on Tuesday, May 13, continues to keep law enforcement agencies on alert.
Officials with the Demorest Police Department confirmed units responded to a second call of a bear sighting on Demorest-Mt. Airy Highway just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, though officers did not locate the animal.
“(Officers) all went to the area and rode around the back streets and rode around the school,” Demorest Assistant Police Chief James Minutello said Wednesday, May 14. “Then we hung out at the schools, but we didn’t see anything.”
Minutello said the Demorest Police Department hasn’t received any other calls regarding a bear since Tuesday afternoon.
Hours before that second call, an adolescent black bear was spotted near Demorest Elementary School around 7 a.m. on May 13, prompting a rapid response from local authorities and school officials.
Resident Ron Mote reported the sighting, noting the bear briefly passed through the area heading toward the school. Emergency dispatch alerted school resource officers and bus drivers to remain vigilant.
Although the bear did not reach the school building, Superintendent Patrick Franklin said Demorest Elementary was placed on heightened alert, with personnel monitoring the premises.
