Here, There, Nowhere: Large Bear Ambles Through Hastings Ranch Neighborhood, Disappears

A large bear rambled through yards and along sidewalks in a Hastings Ranch neighborhood Monday evening, startling and scaring some residents and sending them scurrying to hide as officials searched to find it.

Pasadena Police Lt. John Luna said the first call to police reported the bear at Riviera Drive and Sierra Madre Boulevard at 7 p.m. Later, the bear was seen again on Rim Road off of Sierra Madre Boulevard, Luna said.

Pasadena police initially contacted the Pasadena Humane Society to help find and corral the bear. The Humane Society called in Fish and Wildlife personnel, Luna said.

“I screamed and I said to my husband, ‘There’s a bear in our yard!’ He just kind of sat there and perched in my backyard for about a good three minutes and started eating berries,” Elizabeth Holland told KABC-TV.

Despite the search and spotlights from as many as three police and news helicopters, the bear was never located. Officials surmise it ambled back into the foothills.