British Columbia

Bear helps RCMP by apparently treeing suspect near Fort St. John, B.C.

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Police get 911 call from owner of abandoned speeding vehicle claiming to have climbed a tree to escape a bear

Police in Fort St. John, B.C., believe they may have had help from a local bear in finding the owner of a vehicle found to be going 40 km/h over the speed limit. (Environment Yukon)

Police in Fort St. John, B.C., believe they may have had help from local wildlife in tracking down the owner of a speeding vehicle.

RCMP say a vehicle was clocked going 40 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 97 in the Peace region just after midnight on June 10.

They say the driver attempted to get away from the traffic stop officer, ending up in the ditch of a nearby lumber road.

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Officers were not immediately able to locate the driver of the vehicle — until they received a 911 call from the vehicle's owner, whom they couldn't confirm was driving the vehicle at the time.

"The owner of the vehicle was not found inside the car, but later called us a few minutes after saying that he was being chased by a bear into the woods ... nearby where this vehicle was pulled over," said Const. Nancy Saggar.

RCMP, including police dog services, eventually located the owner, who claimed to have climbed a tree to escape the bear — though he had climbed down by the time officers found him.

"We didn't see the bear ourselves, but from what the police dog services and the police dog handler was saying, there's lots of evidence to suggest there was actually a bear that was following this guy and that he did have to climb a tree just to get away from it," Saggar said.

Police say they have issued traffic tickets and that an investigation is ongoing.