Polar bear watching in Kaktovik (vehicles, assault, charges)

[akck]

If that was me, I don't think I'd try to open a door in the first pics. I'm guessing you'd get the door open and then be trying to slam it shut on the bears head, just about the time he takes your arm off. What I'd do after the last pic is cut left in front of the truck and get in on the driver's door. That way the bear might even help you by slamming into the door, closing it.

[Barkingowl]

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by stiffnecked

That was always a pain for us in Barrow when I worked at the police department. Someone would call in and say there vehicle had been stolen. Doors unlocked, keys in the ignition. We would track down the vehicle usually with someone driving. Report back to the victim who would then say it was okay cause the driver was their cousin, best friend, distant relative or neighbor. They just wanted us to tell who ever was driving it to put gas in it before brining the vehicle back. It was a never ending circle...

That's about it... actually stealing a truck here is pretty rare.

But, I do know of two instances, both the same night! While I was in the back room at the Alascom building out on Freshwater Lake Road, somebody walked in the front door, saw my jacket, and looked into the pockets to find the keys, and then took off with the company truck!

The number of odd things about this starts increasing at that point though. They drive the truck downtown, and run into the back of a parked vehicle, knocking out the head light on mine and the tail light on the other one. The other one just happened to be owned by the GCI rep. But, the guy took off down the road, did a 360 degree spin and snuggled up right against the back of another white Suburban. The difference between these two vehicles was that the other one had red lights on the top and said POLICE on the side.

That probably saved my vehicle from total destruction, because it scared the thief so bad that he got out and ran. That's the way the patrol officer found it. They called me (and were very suprised to learn that no my keys were NOT in the truck). They came out and gave me a lift to where the vehicle was. But we were interrupted by something that got them all very excited, and they handed my keys and all took off. Later I found out why.

It seems that the jerk who took my vehicle had stolen somebody else's car, driven it out Freshwater Lake Road and gotten it stuck in a snow drift. That's why he happened to show up at my door.

The other vehicle was a little red car, owned by a police officer! He had left the keys in it, of course.

They never did figure out who did it. And Alascom never did get the damage repaired, because the insurance adjuster required two estimates and just could not understand why I wouldn't drive it down to Fairbanks to the place on 30th Ave that they recommended...

Life in the fast lane...

[Xa'at]

Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson

That's about it... actually stealing a truck here is pretty rare.

Well, where would they go with it?
It's the same thing in Juneau. You don't hear a lot about stolen cars, bank robberies, etc, because you can't just get on the road and start driving away with it. If you got lucky, you MIGHT be able to sneak by and onto the ferry. But I have no doubt that on the rare occasion that a car is stolen, the first thing the police do is give the license plate number and description to the folks at the ferry terminal.
If you ask me, the whole thing is a little improbable. Is there any chance that your friend has a wicked sense of humor and a copy of Adobe Photoshop, stiffnecked?

[stiffnecked]

No, it's not photo shopped or cut and pasted. Unfortunately it's the real deal. They were just lucky it didn't turn into a body recovery.

[BudinAk]

Run Forest, Run!
Wow...those are priceless pics...thanks for posting them!


Bud

[Kringle]

I'm sorry, but those photos are faked. Look at the right rear paw in the first and second photos. They are malformed blurs. Also, the right front paw or forearm is incomplete in the third photo.

[jrmontag]

I don't care if it's fake or not...that's f'ing priceless!

[Rance]

Originally Posted by Kringle

I'm sorry, but those photos are faked. Look at the right rear paw in the first and second photos. They are malformed blurs. Also, the right front paw or forearm is incomplete in the third photo.

I think your wrong. The paws are moving thats why they are blurred.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Kringle

I'm sorry, but those photos are faked. Look at the right rear paw in the first and second photos. They are malformed blurs. Also, the right front paw or forearm is incomplete in the third photo.

Not faked.

The rear paws in the 1st and 2nd images are not "malformed", but they do show what is clearly "motion blur" due to a relatively slow shutter speed. It's a common thing in images of moving animals.

If you look carefully at the "incomplete" forearm in the third photo you'll realize that it is not incomplete at all. It is fully extended.