Deputies checked the area at that time, but were unable to find anything. They alerted residents in a square mile area of the sighting, asked them to report any sightings or unusual sounds, and suggested that they keep their children and pets inside the rest of the evening.
Although several people in the area have reported seeing the animal, according to Dave Cline, Paulding County dog warden, and local law enforcement agencies cannot confirm a sighting.
Cline cautions the public. "First of all, people need to remain calm, Should anyone see anything, they shouldn't try to take things into their own hands. They need to contact the sheriff's Office or the local law enforcement agency and let them handle it."
Should anyone spot the animal, the sheriff's office warns not to approach it. Although raised by humans, the lion is not a pet and could be dangerous.
[END OF ARTICLE]
Paulding County Progress (Ohio), Wednesday, May 9, 2001
This plaster cast of an animal track was made more than a week ago by Goldie Bryant at her home on Oakwood's north side. The print measures nearly four inches across. Staff Photo/Paulding County Progress
By NANCY WHITAKER, Feature Writer
OAKWOOD -- Residents in the Oakwood area have their eyes and ears open, and are on the alert for what is described as perhaps a big cat.
The Paulding County Sheriff s Department issued a press release to the Progress on Friday, stating that on April 25, a citizen had sighted a cat-type of animal in an open field entering the woods behind their Oakwood home.
The Progress sent photos of paw prints to zoo officials who identified them as "not (from) any type of cat."
Since the initial report was filed, several residents have either seen or heard the animal.
Between 7-8 p.m., on Friday, April 27, sheriff deputies were called to the Steven Fenter residence, about one mile north of Oakwood, on County Road 122. A woman driving by Fenter's home spotted an animal in the, field, and ran up to the home. She reported seeing an animal that resembled a big cat, yellowish. in color and weighing over 200 pounds.
This was the second time that the creature had been sighted. Fenter also said that his two daughters had seen the "cat."
Another report was given by the Chester and Sue Straley family. Between 6-7 p.m., Saturday, April 28, the family heard what they termed as a "roaring" sound. They heard it about three times in a row. The sound was coming from a woods behind their home, approximately 500 yards away. The Straleys live on the south side of Oakwood.
Sheila Rhees, Oakwood, who initially filed the first report, states that her mother had spotted the cat in a field near their home. At first, the women thought it was a huge, strange looking deer, but they noticed that it walked more like a cat.
"I know how a cat walks. It rotates its shoulders," Rhees said.
Exotic pets aren't uncommon in Paulding County. It is conceivable that someone's "pet" got away, or that an owner just got tired of the pet, and turned it loose.
In 1999, an alligator-like creature was seen and videotaped on the Maumee, near Cecil. It was later confirmed by a wildlife officer. Other past examples include a piranha caught at Oxbow Lake, and an arctic fox, killed near Grover Hill.
Numerous tracks have been found in the Oakwood area. A Progress photographer shot photos of a paw print on Sunday behind Chester Straley's home. The tracks were intermixed with raccoon tracks.
Goldie Bryant, who resides on Road 104 on the other side of Oakwood, also spotted a separate set of tracks on April 27, and made a plaster cast of one. "It was 50 feet from my garage, she said. The animal's trail went from a ditch and into a woods, following deer tracks.
On Monday, the Progress faxed its photos and a photo of the plaster cast to the Toledo Zoo and The Children's Zoo in Fort Wayne. The consensus was that the tracks -- which appeared to be identical -- were not made by a feline.
"It's a big dog or coyote, nothing resembling a feline," said Wayne Carpenter, senior keeper of large mammals at the Toledo Zoo.
"It's not any type of cat," agreed a curator at the zoo in Fort Wayne. He said you wouldn't see the claws in a print made by a cat. Claw marks are clearly visible in both sets of tracks.
However, these sets of tracks may or may not have been made by the animal seen by Rhees and others.
While various residents say they have spotted the creature, no one, has been able to prove what it is, or where it has traveled. Some wild animals can roam up to 20 miles in one day.
Some residents are fearful to have their children play outside, or to leave their pets unattended outside. They are taking precautionary measures until the animal is identified or captured.
Rumors were also surfacing that a number of dogs -- perhaps up to 17 -- and livestock had been killed, but according to Paulding County dog warden Dave Cline, there have been no unusual pet deaths, or carcasses reported.
Cline said if there had been that many dogs killed, he surely would have been notified.
Since the reported sighting, he had only had one dog reported missing, in the Oakwood area.
One village resident said that he heard a big cat had been shot with a stun gun and taken to the Toledo Zoo. However, this report was false.
Also false was a rumor that the big cat had bothered two children waiting for a school bus.
The Progress could find no witnesses who could verify reports of big cat sightings outside the Oakwood area.
While county officials feel there is no need to be alarmed, in Oakwood, some residents believe there is something definitely "out there."
Sue Straley said that deer usually come near their home in the evening on their way to the river for water. Last week, the family saw deer in the fields in mid-day. "I think something has them spooked," she said.
Sheila Rhees and her mother said they know what they saw, and it was not a dog. "I know what a dog looks like, and believe me that was not a dog," she said.
Anyone with any unusual sightings or incidents, should contact authorities.
[END OF ARTICLE]
Paulding County Progress (Ohio), Wednesday, May 16, 2001
OAKWOOD -- Three weeks after a mysterious large animal was sighted near Oakwood, the creature remains elusive despite several eyewitness reports.
At approximately 9:35 a.m. last Wednesday, the Progress received a report from Sheila Rhees, stating that two residents Of Oakwood had spotted the cat, which has been at large around Oakwood since April 25. The two Oakwood residents were Lydia Ferris, and another neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous. The sheriff's office had received the call approximately 9 a.m.
On this particular morning, Ferris' neighbor had gone outside to get her mail sometime between 8:30 and 9 a.m. The source stated she saw a big cat, with pointed ears. It was lying between two trees, across from her home on Chapel Road. The creature then moved on down through the opening, and was across from Lydia Ferris' home.
Ferris confirmed, "I saw it." She described the cat as yellow, with black pointed ears, which were standing up. It also had a long tubular tall and was about the size of a large boxer dog.
Ferris is very concerned, because she takes care of children in her home, and she is leery about letting them play outside.
The unidentified large animal, which has been sighted by at least three other people, has some of the Oakwood area residents in an uproar.
Sheila Rhees initially had reported the cat sighting on April 25. Since that time, numerous sightings and rumors have circulated around this small town. Some feel that the situation is not being taken seriously, while others seem unaffected by the animal, and go on like it doesn't exist.
Randy Moore of Grover Hill stated that he has owned exotic pets in the past, but this is not one of his animals roaming around; none of his animals is missing or loose.
Prints taken from around Oakwood were identified as being some type of animal in the dog or wolf family.
Wildlife officer Duane Bailey stated that this type of incident does not fall under his jurisdiction, but that to his knowledge no exotic pets have been reported missing.
After checking the area the morning of May 9, officials still had not spotted the cat, or were any closer to proving or disapproving its existence than they were previously.
Ferris says that the town is tired of being laughed at, and that she knows what she saw. "I know there is a God, and I've never seen him, but I know He is there. Just like I know there is a cat out there in those woods, right across from my house."
One person who saw the animal on Wednesday said it was a big tabby housecat. The other three witnesses disagree. Ferris says, "Trust me, this is no common house cat. This cat was hunting."
Although there have been no sightings since May 9, some of the residents in Oakwood, are still apprehensive, and want this incident treated more objectively.
So, the folks in Oakwood are waiting, and hoping that the cat will either move on, or get tired of playing cat and mouse games with county officials.
[END OF ARTICLE]