SEBRING, Fla. — A bear sighting near Sebring Middle School prompted administrators to keep some children from leaving.
The school posted on Facebook around 3 p.m. Wednesday that no one was allowed to leave on foot or by bike. However, children were able to leave by bus. Parents also were allowed to pick up their children by car.
Highlands County school board secretary Marlene Welborn confirmed the temporary lockdown was lifted within the hour.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission first contacted the school, telling administration the bear was about two blocks away, spokesman Brian Norris said. The bear first was seen in a tree but it came down.
It no longer is in the area of the school, Norris added.
Wednesday afternoon, Richard Cook was practicing with his senior softball team when he says the estimated 250-300 pound black bear came running near the field.
"The helicopters were flying over and we just turned around and looked and here comes a bear running down the road," Cook said. "He was scared.
"He ran right up the road. He was high tailing it!"
Cook says bears are not uncommon in Highlands County but are rarely seen in downtown Sebring. He believes the bear was likely attracted by people leaving their trash cans out on garbage day.
"They come to get the trash," Cook said. "They come down the street and knock trash cans over and come down and get the food out."
Wildlife officers are working with the Sebring Police Department to determine how to best take care of the bear. It seems, for now, it made its way into an orange grove and away from a populated area, Norris said.
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