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DNR to attempt to trap menacing bear in Dawsonville

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — A Dawsonville woman fears a large black bear that's roaming her property may attempt to break into her home.

The homeowner told Channel 2's Tom Regan the menacing looking bear has come out of the woods night after night for the past several weeks and prowls around her home.

She set up a camera to capture pictures of the bear and said she won't rest easy until the bear itself is caught.

Stella Millsapps showed Regan one of the calling cards left by the large black bear that's been foraging for food around her house in the middle of night.

"So you're worried he may break into house and attack you?" Regan asked Millsapps.

"Yes I am," she responded.

Millsapps showed Regan pictures of the bear as it was chewing on a garage can and her grill.

"He turned it over, right over there on the floor," Millsapps pointed out.

She's tied up her large garbage can to keep the bear from raiding it, but said it still gets into the garbage, dragging any food scraps and trash out the woods.

"We've had bears before, but they've never bothered stuff. This is the first time this is tearing up everything," Millsapps said.

"If he can do that, that close to the house, he could definitely get into a window or something like that, get in on somebody," Melissa Millsapps, Stella's daughter, told Regan.

"Me and my grandson have both seen the bear," Stella Millsapps told Regan.

Stella called the Department of Natural Resources to see if someone could come, trap and remove the bear.

Regan also called DNR.

A representative told Regan by law, they could not remove the bear until getting a better gauge of its aggressiveness, which requires removing bird feeders, garbage cans and other bear attractants.

But Stella Millsapps said she isn't satisfied with that response.

"We've had bears off and on every year since we've been here and this is the only one who has given us any trouble," Stella Millsapps said.

Millsapps told Regan the bear has walked up her front porch steps several times. Her son in law has said he will shoot the bear if it is not removed.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a representative from DNR called Stella Millsapps and said they have reconsidered the situation and will send someone out to attempt to trap the bear. They did not give her a specific date.