1) Bear populations in the State of Maryland are on the rise(1).
2) A bear cub was killed by a motorist on I-295 in early June, 2000, only a few miles from Arundel Mills. The accompanying mother bear fled to the nearby woods after the accident.
3) Officials of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are 73% certain that a soil impression they found on the Arundel Mills site was made by a bear.
The idea that Chuck Vance and Jerry Workman were frightened by a bear seems to be the most rational way to explain their claims. When we posed the bear question to them they laughed and stated emphatically that what they saw was not a bear. They both contended that, having been born and raised in the hills of West Virginia, they had seen black bears many times when hunting and hiking through the woods. Various news reports of the incident had police spokesmen saying on Officer DiPietro's behalf, that what he saw was probably a bear. However, if that was DiPietro's belief he did not state that in his comments to Tim Arcilesi. Due to the negative publicity the "creature" coverage was focusing on Arundel Mills, it is possible that DiPietro was pressured through the Police Department to default to the bear explanation in public statements even if contrary to what he described behind closed doors. We suspect that sensationalism and controversy is not healthy for a 250 million-dollar mega-mall project. Furthermore, if Officer DiPietro thought that what Chuck and Jerry saw was a bear, he did not say that to us.
"It was a hoax..."
Given some of the extraordinary claims in this case, there are certain camps that feel the whole affair is a hoax. Nevertheless, the facts do not heartily support that idea. Newspaper accounts of the incident mention that the construction workers, who reported their experience to police, were quite shaken by the alleged encounter. During our conversations with them their stories never deviated and they seemed absolutely sincere in the telling. The original police report might offer insight on the emotional condition of the witnesses at the time their statements were taken. Unfortunately, we were denied access to it (at this writing, the Enigma Project is still making attempts to secure a copy of that document. If and when it is obtained, should its details cast new light on the findings of this report, we will revise it accordingly). The two workers were videotaped for an evening television news segment(2). However, their delivery was sincere and consistent with what they previously reported to us and, from what we can determine, to the police. Though the controversial nature of the Arundel Mills incident gave Chuck and Jerry some publicity, they did not actively seek the attention. Another point to consider is Tim Arcilesi's account of August 1st, when he reported seeing them drive about the site, with a flashlight, trying catch another look at whatever they sighted the night before. If they lied about what they saw, what would be the point of them engaging in such an exercise?
Beyond the claims made by the workers, we also have the statements made by Anne Arundel County Police officer, Nicholas DiPietro. This officer witnessed some kind of animal at the
1. Thomson, Candus, Baltimore Sun, "State officials refuse to allow limited bear-hunting season 1953 ban will remain for at least two seasons," Wednesday, July 19, 2000, page 2B.
2. TV-4 News, 6:00 PM broadcast, NBC affiliate WRC-TV Channel 4, Washington, DC, August 2, 2000.
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