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Bear sighting in Hope on Halloween

A mother and her two cubs were spotted running in a backyard on Rupert Street

Trick-or-treaters in downtown Hope were faced with an unusual surprise on Halloween.

A mother bear and her two cubs were seen running in a backyard in the 400 block of Rupert St. at about 8 p.m. on Oct. 31. When police arrived, all three bears were up a nearby tree.

Hope RCMP general duty members stayed at the base of the tree while young trick-or-treaters were going door-to-door in the area.

"As a police officer, you have no idea what your shift is going to demand of you that day," said Const. Tracy Wolbeck.  "A mother bear with her cubs is obviously a really volatile situation so our members stayed to ensure that mom did not become a threat to all the people out that night."

Once members deemed it safe, they retreated from the tree base to allow the bears to come down and run away. No one in the area was harmed.