Two bears spotted in Lynnwood Tuesday, resulting in four-hour search

Two bears were seen running through Lynnwood on Tuesday.

The first call came in at 10:50 a.m., when the bears were seen near Whole Foods, located at 2800 196th St. S.W.

The Lynnwood Police Department and the Department of Fish and Wildlife then tracked the bears, apparently a mother and cub, from behind the Lowe’s Home Improvement store at 3100 196th St. S.W., to a wooded area next to Staples on the other side of 196th Street Southwest. The larger bear then made her way across Alderwood Mall Parkway to a residential area near Alderwood Middle School and Heritage Park, then eventually to a residential neighborhood in the area of Poplar Way and 204th Street Southwest.

The bear eluded officers by hiding in brush or ducking into back yards.

When the Department of Fish and Wildlife was prepared to try to capture the bear, it took off at a full run heading southwest. It eventually ducked into a large, heavily wooded area just west of the intersection of 212th Street Southwest and Larch Way, which is where it was last seen around 2:30 p.m.

Unable to capture the bears, the containment units dispersed just before 3 p.m.

The location of the bear cub is unknown, Lynnwood Police Cmdr. Sean Doty said.

If you see a bear, you are asked to call 9-1-1.

A bear was last seen in Lynnwood in 2011. The bear had to be killed to keep a neighborhood safe.

–Story and photos by Natalie Covate

  1. Natalie, Can you give a link to that 2011 sighting please? I’d like to know more as to why it was killed rather than relocated. Thanks.

    1. The bear was in a back yard over by Lynndale around the time kids were heading out for school.

  2. A sighting of Momma Bear and her little one makes one wonder where Papa Bear is to be found. Growing up here in the 1930s bear sightings were very common, although every once in a while they did make the local news. Some of the stories were even kind of comical. I hope that if found these two can be relocated to a more suitable wilderness home.

  3. Other than in fairy tales, Papa Bear does not help raise the cubs. With some bear species, such as grizzlies and polar bears, males will kill cubs they encounter.

    Have there been any follow-up sightings of the two bears?

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