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<\/p>\nThe boy who called … bear?!<\/p>\n
An Ohio man was arrested in West Virginia on Friday and charged with falsely reporting an emergency after he called 9-1-1 and said he was the victim of a bear attack, authorities confirm to TooFab.<\/p>\n
Belle Fire Chief David Armstrong confirmed 47-year-old Christian Leonhardt contacted authorities after crashing his side-by-side vehicle in the woods. Per Armstrong, Leonhardt said he needed help and was “being circled by bears and being attacked” — and even indicated he was injured.<\/p>\n
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Armstrong said dispatchers told him to “take his shirt off and apply pressure to wounds,” only to realize no such wounds existed when Leonhardt was located “pretty deep” in the woods some time later.<\/p>\n
Two counties were involved in the search, after Leonhardt’s vehicle — which he had actually crashed — was located between two response areas.<\/p>\n
Per Armstrong, it took him over an hour via his own side-by-side vehicle to get to where Leonhardt himself was eventually found. It was then determined not only was he “not injured,” he was “not attacked” by a bear either, prompting authorities to place Leonhardt under arrest.<\/p>\n
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