Was It Really A Bear Attack?
BY Herschel Smith
3 years, 4 months ago
Maybe not. WiscoDave leaves this comment to the initial report.
It sounded far-fetched from the very beginning.
An Alaskan miner, cornered in the brutal wilderness to stand-off against a hungry brown bear for four days before being rescued by a Coast Guard’s helicopter that happened to be passing by, without a scratch on him.
But that’s what Richard Jessee, a gold hunter who was rescued last week in Nome, Alaska, said happened to him.
The unlikely story gathered attention from the national press and Jessee told proudly about hiding from the animal after it crushed his ATV and tossed his phone in a river.
Now, however, locals are questioning his version of events after going to the cabin where he was rescued but finding no evidence of the days-long battle he described.
Other local miners who were interviewed by The Nome Nugget went to the cabin where Jessee was rescued but found no bear tracks.
They did however find the ATV and attached trailer that Jessee said the bear pushed into the water.
On top of it was a packet of bacon in a cooler that was untouched.
‘There’s just no way it was a bear!’ one anonymous source said.
They think he simply crashed the ATV into the river and waterlogged it, but was too embarrassed to admit it, so made up the story after being rescued.
‘We went out there to the cabin, but we couldn’t find a bear track within 500 feet of the place, but it should have been all torn up, according to his story.
‘There’s no hair, no tracks, no scat, nothing.
‘He made a fool of us. We found out that his story didn’t match what we found.’
The lack of prints were especially odd given that the region had gone through heavy rainfall when the incident supposedly took place, which would leave the ground muddy and perfect for leaving prints.
The owner of the cabin added that he has never had issues with bears near his property.
The group also found Jessee’s ATV without a single claw mark despite Jessee’s claim that the bear attacked the vehicle and pushed it into a waterhole.
I don’t see what’s so embarrassing about telling people you crashed your ATV. At least it’s honest – if that’s what happened.
On August 2, 2021 at 10:26 am, dad29 said:
They think he simply crashed the ATV into the river and waterlogged it,
“They” weren’t the only ones. Alcohol a factor?
On August 4, 2021 at 1:28 pm, Ohio Guy said:
He simply lost his bearings.
On August 4, 2021 at 4:06 pm, Fred said:
I like the bear story better.