Surprising intruder breaks into Pennsylvania nursing home and gets into patients' beds
The bizarre encounter at Presbyterian Senior Living at St. Andrew's Village in Indiana, Pennsylvania, began when an employee heard an alarming bang on Tuesday around 11pm.
'I was sitting there at our nurse's station and I heard a big crash,' Charlene Elliott, a lead certified nursing assistant on duty that night, recalled to WPXI.
Assuming the jarring sound was another employee falling, Elliot quickly stood up to help her coworker.
But instead of seeing an aide on the ground, she saw a bear marching down the hall toward her.
The wild animal had leaped through a window, sending shattered glass flying through the hallway. Photos from the scene show claw marks on the windowsill.
Elliot urged residents to immediately shut their doors to prevent the bear from leaving the hallway, but he still managed to cause even more commotion.
During the chaotic 15 minutes the bear roamed the facility, he crawled into bed with two frightened residents - coming face-to-face with one of them, WPXI reported.
'Please do not move, touch him, because he could have mauled him. I mean, one swipe,' Elliot said she advised the patients.
Fiercely defending the nursing home from the potential danger, Elliot said she used a walker to hit the bear and get him away from the people living at the home.
Despite the terror many felt from the baffling intruder's presence, one patient was thrilled to see the bear and wanted to feed it, Elliot told the outlet.
'She's like "Well, go ahead and give it my sandwich!" and I'm like, "No, we can't do that!"' she recalled.
Employees did end up giving the bear an edible incentive to leave the building - luring it outside with Rice Krispies Treats.
Elliot explained she and other staffers also used a walker to nudge the bear out the door.
Once he reached the exit, the bear was seen scurrying off into the night, leaving staff and residents relieved the jaw-dropping ordeal was finally over.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission was able to catch the bear by Thursday morning - using the animal's apparent love for sweets to lure him into a trap.
Officials reportedly used pastries and donuts to capture the bear to bring him to a 'more suitable' location, Lt. Andy Harvey of the PA Game Commission told WPXI.
'Hopefully, there's some food sources around there where it can thrive.'
The commission said it is rare for bears to bust indoors, but evidently not impossible.
In order to prevent bear break-ins, they advised people to secure their garbage so animals cannot get into it.
Presbyterian Senior Living addressed the unusual situation in a statement to the outlet, writing: 'We are incredibly proud of our team's quick thinking and dedication to ensuring the safety of everyone in our community.
'To prevent future wildlife encounters, the game warden safely relocated the bear to a more suitable habitat today and all bird feeders on our campus were removed.
'We appreciate the support of our residents, families, and local authorities in managing this unique situation, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all.'
The young bear, believed to be just one or two years old, has been moved to the Cambria County gamelands, the Indiana Gazette reported.
'We are incredibly proud of our team's quick thinking and dedication to ensuring the safety of everyone in our community,' the nursing home wrote to WPXI on Thursday.
'To prevent future wildlife encounters, the game warden safely relocated the bear to a more suitable habitat today and all bird feeders on our campus were removed.'
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