Video: Bear wanders store aisles in Vernon

Vernon was thrust into the national spotlight last week when a video showing a black bear meandering up and down the aisles of the Dollar General store on Route 94 went viral.

“A news reporter up in Alaska was doing a story on bears and he did a Google search to see what other news there was and he came across my story,” said Sean Clarkin, a local Realtor with Coldwell Banker who happened to enter the store moments after the bear did.

When he saw the bear in the store Tuesday, Sept. 16, he went into action.

“I was getting property ready to be listed and my stager needed some cleaning supplies so I ran out to Dollar General,” Clarkin said. “Not long after I arrived in the store, I heard somebody yelling ‘get out’ over and over. The next thing I knew, the person doing the yelling - I believe it was the manager - was standing next to me, and when I looked up from the shelf, I saw the bear at the end of the aisle.”

After doing a double take, Clarkin went to the next aisle to make sure he saw what he thought he saw.

“At some point, we got to the second to last aisle and the bear made a lefthand turn and started walking toward us,” said the Barry Lakes resident. “It was clear something was wrong with the bear, almost as if he was sedated or hung over. I kept thinking something bad is going to happen if I don’t do something. The bear did not look healthy.”

After leading the bear out of the store by simply walking in front of it and talking to it as if it were a dog, Clarkin used an empty shopping cart as a barrier between himself and the bear to make sure it did not re-enter the store.

The bear then walked across Route 94, where it was put down by police.

“I tend to record a lot of things in respect to real estate and since my phone was in my hand, I started recording and then pointed it in the general direction of what was going on,” Clarkin said about his decision to record the action. “My main concern was making sure nobody got hurt and getting the bear out of the store.”

Close calls

Though the incident was resolved, there were some close calls.

Before Clarkin’s arrival in the store, a 90-year-old woman had an encounter with the bear that caused her to be taken to the hospital out of precaution, police said.

Clarkin said she seemed fine before going to the hospital.

“As I understand it, she had some type of an encounter with the bear in the store,” he said. “Maybe the bear brushed up against her, but I do know that she was not bleeding, was not bitten and her clothes were not ripped.

“In the parking lot afterwards, a police officer encouraged her multiple times to go to the hospital just in case. In fact, she kept shopping after encountering the bear.”

A dog of the owner of nearby Goodfella’s Restaurant also encountered the bear while the dog was attached to a tree outside the restaurant.

“The bear was almost wrestling with him,” said Aaron Glading, Goodfella’s owner. “He didn’t get bit or scratched. There were no broken bones. They were able to get him on a leash and he is fine. Lucky got lucky.”

Multiple encounters

According to Vernon police, calls about a nuisance bear near Dollar General and Goodfella’s first came in about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 16.

Responding officers lured the bear back into the woods via sirens and rubber projections, and New Jersey Fish and Wildlife officials were notified.

Two hours later, after the Goodfellas and Dollar General encounters, the bear had to be put down.

“Based on the incident, the officers euthanized the bear as per the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife response criteria for Category 1 bears, Vernon police said in a press release.

Category 1 bears are perceived to be an immediate threat to life and property.

Calls to Dollar General were not returned.