SWOOPE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – UPDATE: The Department of Wildlife Resources and the Augusta Sheriff’s Office confirm what people in the last sentence of this article are saying and that this is not an injured bear. There is no longer a “be on the lookout”.

ORIGINAL:

The Augusta County Sheriff is asking people to be on the lookout for an injured bear spotted early this (Tuesday) morning about 2-miles southwest of Staunton. The call came into sheriff’s office dispatch in the area of Virginia Institute Way and Mt. Tabor Road of a bear that appeared to have an injured leg. A deputy’s attempt to locate the animal was not successful, and the state game department of notified.

If you’re in that area and see the injured bear, the sheriff says don’t attempt to approach the bear or interact with it in any way. You’re urged to call the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries at 540-248-9360 or The Augusta County Emergency Communications Center at 540-245-5500. That said, a couple of local residents say they’ve seen the bear, which appears to be missing part of a leg, around the last couple of years.