Shocking video shows black bear chasing boy into Family Dollar
By Shelley Bortz
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Pennsylvania (KDKA) — An 11-year-old boy ran into a Pennsylvania Family Dollar with a black bear right behind him. The bear charged through the front doors, sending the boy and the cashier scrambling for cover. The moment the bear leapt over the front counter was caught on video.
“I was like, ‘I’m probably going to get eaten by a bear,'” Cole Frazee said.
Boy recounts outrunning bear
Frazee said he and his dad stopped to grab a few things at the Family Dollar in Markleysburg. Cole went outside to see what was taking his dad so long, and that’s when he saw it: a black bear looking right at him.
At first, Frazee thought it was going to turn around. Instead, it started chasing him.
“When it runs after me, I turn around, I run in the store, I’m screaming and stuff. The thing was like a foot and a half away from me,” Frazee said.
“I took a left and the bear went straight,” he said.
Frazee says his heart was pounding as he raced up and down the aisles trying to escape the bear. The only other person inside the store was the cashier, so he ran to her for help. She grabbed Frazee and they both jumped on top of the counter to get a better view. The moment the bear turned and walked toward the back, they saw their only chance.
“She grabbed her coat, the keys and the phone and we ran out of there. When we ran out of there, we all got in the car,” Frazee said.
Video captures bear on counter Seconds later, the bear returns to the front of the store, and that’s when the video captures it leaping over the counter where Frazee had just been. The bear stayed inside the store for about 10 minutes, wandering around before finally finding its way out. Meantime, outside, sitting in a locked car, Frazee says he finally felt safe.
“I was relieved,” he said. “It was definitely a crazy experience.”
It’s an experience he’ll share for years to come, and it started Monday at school. Frazee said when his friends found out what happened, they couldn’t believe it. He’ll be forever known as the boy who outran a bear.
“That’s like one in a million right there,” he said.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission says bears are actively searching for food this time of year, and that leads to sometimes dangerous and unexpected encounters.
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