Kodiak Middle School

The Kodiak Police Department and state wildlife troopers attempted to scare off a juvenile brown bear that appeared near Main Elementary School this Friday afternoon.

According to a Facebook post from the Kodiak Island Borough School District, the bear showed up right at lunchtime at around 12.23 p.m. As a precaution, all students from Main Elementary and the nearby Kodiak Middle School and Kodiak High School were kept inside for the rest of the school day, according to the district.

Kodiak Police and Alaska State Troopers arrived on the scene at around 12.30 p.m. Kodiak Deputy Chief of Police Francis De La Fuente wrote to KMXT in a text message that they were attempting to push the bear back towards the Pillar Mountain area using non-lethal guns with noise-making shells.

However, De La Fuente says the bear disappeared into the woods between the Aquatic Center and the softball field on Mill Bay Road.