Tales of Creature Tall On Interest, Short on Details

Animal sighting lures media to Arundel Mills: A Summary

Original article written by Laura Barnhardt - Baltimore Sun Staff August 2, 2000

Barnhardt reports the creature's height to be 12ft as she begins her article that tries to make sense of a recent sighting of what some people think may be a Bigfoot. It is described as black and was witnessed skulking in the dark of the night at the perimeter of a construction site near the town of Arundel Mills.

She relates the frenzy that accompanied the report and the media who descended upon the quiet community.  Barnhardt explains the investigation that ensued by the local police and the subsequent and usual ridicule and joking that usually accompanies such a report. 

Shortly, Officials of the State Wildlife Department were asked to search the site and surrounding area near the construction site.  Barnhardt reports that the creature frightened some of the workers who were there at the site during the incident. They had been sleeping inside a vehicle near a mall where the construction was taking place.  Barnhardt reports that the mall was in the vicinity of Hanover.  It was around midnight when they were awakened by the creature.

 The Department of Natural Resources representatives, Barnhardt says, were grilled by the media reporters that  represented various television productions. The  local police, involved in investigating the sighting, fared no better under the onslaught of reporters jockeying for a story.

.Some county employees joked and snickered and wondered how this report might effect future tourism in the area.  However, some calmer heads prevailed.  Janet S. Owens, who is the County Executive, sent her concerns via a spokesperson. The tone was serious as the spokesperson voice concerns that the Arundel Mills Mall open as it was scheduled, November 16th.

When interviewing the construction employees, Barnhardt reports that they emphasized that the creature raced past them as such a speed that it was difficult to determine exactly what it was.  The men fled to a local "fast-food restaurant", Barnhardt reported, where they immediately telephoned the local law enforcement.  Police Sgt. Joseph E Jordan, an off-duty police officer was sent out to investigate.  He was responsible for security at the site, according to Barnhardt. 

Jordan had to  work hard at getting the men to return to the location.  They were extremely reluctant, being frightened by the experience.  Barnhardt reports that the officer accompanied the men back to the location of the sighting and again, the creature made itself known.  However, they only caught a brief glimpse of the creature and the frightened men left the area in panic.

Several hours later, Jordon, who remained at the site, briefly spotted the creature and focused his floodlight with the intent of illuminating the area where the creature was hiding.  However, he had no way of knowing whether this animal he spotted was the same one the workers saw, as they are not willing to remain with the officer.

The Department of Natural Resources called in a Wildlife biologist where he began a search for the creature.  They found nothing, not even a footprint, Barnhardt reports, and the spokesperson, Susan O'Brien,  who issued the press release, confirmed that they had found nothing to confirm or discredit the report.  However, it was concluded that a bear, spotted two or three miles from the construction site, on route 295, Barnhardt reported, was probably the culprit that had caused all the fuss.  The bear, thought to have been a female, had been seen with a cub that had been hit by a car on 295.  She was estimated to have weighed about 300 lbs.  They said her height would have been around five feet, if it had raised up and stood on its hind legs.  O'Brien emphasized this in her report.  Barnhardt reported that the spokesperson concluded that the witnesses were confused because of their fright and by the dim lighting.  This distorted their eyewitness account of the size of the creature. 

Nicholas DiPietro, another law enforcement officer at the scene, reported the discovery of a foot print that was estimated to be around fifteen to twenty inches long.  He also suggested that he had spotted a very large creature near a pond that was on the site.  The time would have been around 3 a.m.

Again, Barnhardt reports that the spokesperson suggested that even though the footprint DiPietro found was much larger than that of a bear, the possibility existed that the bear simply slipped in the dirt.  The result would be a print that seemed longer than it would be normally.  And since bears had been reported in the Baltimore area, she had no other evidence to conclude that it was anything but a bear.  Barnhardt reports that O'Brien suggests that a resident, who happens upon a bear, should make their presence known.  They were urged to stand straight and talk to the bear while backing up and away slowly.  She urged the person to be no confrontational while fleeing to safety.  

Archived  article at: http://www.sunspot.net/news/maryland/

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