Forster Woods Residents Disappointed To Find Out Neighborhood Bear Really Just Man in Bear Costume

Forster Woods residents were surprised and saddened to find out the neighborhood bear so many times captured on security camera footage posted to the Forster Woods Facebook page was just a man in a bear costume playing a practical joke.

“We all just found out.  We became suspicious when a neighbor posted a recent video on the bear”, said Lottie Goldsmith, a longtime Forster Woods resident.  In the early morning footage, the bear was seen sitting down on the curb near the lower park, and eating what looked to be a sandwich from an Arby’s bag.  The “bear” also appeared to finish off a six pack of Coors Light in the video footage.  “It definitely raised suspicion in the neighborhood when we saw that video,” said Goldsmith.

Snoqualmie Police soon confirmed that indeed a man, Leonard Whiteman, was responsible for what he called a practical joke taken too far.  Whiteman, who moved to Snoqualmie from Forks a few months ago, was remorseful.  “I’ve been at it for a few months – seeing all those videos on Facebook - it just seemed to bring so much joy to folks.  I became addicted to the celebrity aspect of it,” said Whiteman. 

US Forest Ranger Roscoe Green of the Snoqualmie Ranger District in North Bend disapproves of people wearing bear suits outdoors.  “We strongly discourage it.  It’s dangerous and has the ability to cause much confusion.  If people must wear a bear costume, they should stay inside their own homes, or at least indoors.”

Asked whether he was remorseful, Whiteman responded, “I’m really sorry about all the trespassing and knocked over trash cans, I really got into the role and made some poor choices.  I can honestly say I won’t be dressing up as a bear – or any large mammal – ever again.”  Whiteman added that over the next few weeks he plans to use his newfound celebrity to help raise awareness of the danger posed to bears by people leaving out garbage or food.