Resident Sees Bear Near Mead Elementary, Making for Fourth Report of its Kind in Sammamish in a Week

A Sammamish resident living near reported seeing a bear near the campus on Monday, a school district spokeswoman has confirmed, making the fourth report of its kind in the city in just a week.

The sighting occurred in the morning when the neighbor called the school with the news, Kathryn Reith of the Lake Washington School District said in an email. Reith, who did not have additional information on Monday evening, heard the news from the principal.

School officials contacted the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for assistance. Specialists at that department told school officials that bears are not a threat to students on a playground or walking home, Reith said in her note.

As a safety precaution, adult staff kept a close eye on the school grounds and children during recess, Reith said. Teachers also reminded students about safety and instructed them to walk home in pairs or in a group and to avoid areas or paths in the woods.

School officials also sent a letter home to parents to inform them of the sighting. The letter included the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's website address. That site has information about living with wildlife.

The sighting comes a week after Maya Ledbetter snapped an image of a bear on Sept. 5 outside of her family's house near . Her mother contacted Sammamish Patch with the news.

After that story was posted on Sammamish Patch, Jacki Williford, a resident, noted in the comments section that on the evening of Sept. 6, she saw a bear, which looked similar in size to the one spotted by Maya Ledbetter.

Williford expressed concern for the safety of school children. While the was back in session at the time, it was the first day of class for the .

On Sept. 8, school administrators at  sent a note to parents about a bear and bobcat sighting near that campus. A reader also posted a note on the Sammamish Patch site to inform others.

A Sammamish Patch reader sent an email on Monday with news of the bear sighting near Mead Elementary and asked whether any other information was known. Sammamish Patch contacted Reith, who gave additional details on Monday afternoon.

Editor's note: Sammamish Patch is grateful to the reader who sent an email to ask whether more information was known about the bear sighting near Mead Elementary. Sammamish Patch also has .