FESTUS, Mo. — Josh Johnson and his wife woke up early Tuesday morning to an unexpected visitor outside their home in Jefferson County.
"She came in the bedroom, woke me up and said there's a bear in the front yard. I thought she was kidding," said Johnson.
Nope, she wasn't "kidding."
His wife whipped out her cell phone and caught the wild creature on video, rummaging through their dumpster. Josh snapped photos of the huge, hungry bear.
"Sure, as hell I looked out and saw a bear. I was like okay I don't know what to think," recalled Johnson.
Before it took off, he says, that thing also went across his neighbor's front yard and late this afternoon police were still out in the area looking for the black bear.
"They were just really glad I wasn't sitting on my porch," said Dana Templeton.
This afternoon Templeton's hysterical neighbor called her screaming she saw one walking across Templeton's front yard on England Drive.
"We have deer out here in my yard occasionally, but no bears," said Templeton.
Police beelined to the neighborhood, but by the time they got there, the bear was gone.
"It's the first time I've heard of them. I know of bobcats and mountain lions occasionally, but I didn't know anything about bears," said Josh Johnson.
Conservationists say such sightings are happening more frequently across the Show-Me-State as the bear population grows.
"They're looking for territory and just exploring," said Dan Zarlenga, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Still, human-bear interactions can be dangerous.
That's why conservationists say never feed or approach bears.
Keep food, garbage and recycling items secured. If you ever come face to face with a bear?
"Make noise, raise your arms. Let it know you're there and it will likely just go away," said Zarlenga.
Hopefully for good from Festus because neighbors don't want to bear seeing the big animal in their neck of the woods any longer.
"That thing was outside our home for five minutes," recalled Josh Johnson.
"I just want it gone for good," said Dana Templeton.
Late tonight, neighbors say they heard a bear had gotten struck by a vehicle on Interstate 55 in Festus.
5 On Your Side reached out to the Festus Police Department to inquire about that, but we have not heard back.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
5 On Your Side news app