The local fire chief told TooFab that if he had called and said "I'm scared, lost," we would have gone anyway. "To add to the story, it was the wrong thing to do."

The boy who called... bear? !

Authorities confirm to TooFab that an Ohio man was arrested and charged on Friday with falsely reporting a situation after he contacted 9-1-1 and claimed he had been attacked by a bear.

David Armstrong, Belle Fire Chief, confirmed that Christian Leonhardt, 47 years old contacted authorities following a side-by-side crash in the woods. According to Armstrong, Leonhardt stated that he needed assistance and was being "circled by bears" and "attacked". He even said he was hurt.

Armstrong claimed dispatchers instructed him to "take off his shirt and apply pressure to the wounds" only to discover that no such injuries existed when Leonhardt's body was found "pretty deeply" in the forest some time later.

After Leonhardt's car -- in which he actually crashed -- was found between two areas of response, the search involved two counties.

Armstrong said it took him more than an hour to drive his side-by-side to the location where Leonhardt was found. The authorities placed Leonhardt in custody after determining that he had not been "injured" or "attacked" by a grizzly bear.

According to WCHS and citing a criminal charge, Leonhardt told dispatchers during his first calls that he was walking for days, while searchers tried to scare away any bears with their lights or sirens. According to the criminal complaint, when found, the man claimed he was drunk and "just needed a ride out the woods" before apologizing for his behavior and refusing medical attention.

"We invested a lot of time and resources in this." Armstrong told TooFab that it was disheartening to discover that the story wasn't true. We would have gone anyway if he had called and said ''I am lost, afraid'. "To add to the story, it was not right."

Leonhardt, who was charged with falsely reporting a medical emergency, was arrested at the West Virginia Regional Jail and released on the same day.

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Title: Man Who Called 911 Saying He Was 'Being Attacked' by Bears Was Drunk and 'Just Wanted Ride Out of Woods': Authorities Say
Sourced From: www.toofab.com/2023/09/25/christian-leonhardt-arrest/
Published Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2023 19:37:58 +0000

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