San Mateo police Lt. Mike Brunicardi said a motorist saw the mountain lion run across a street and into a residential yard at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Bay City News Service (San Francisco) reported Wednesday.

"To have a sighting at this time of day, right before 1 p.m., is extremely rare," Brunicardi said. "The last sightings we had in San Mateo in the first week of October were at dawn or dusk or in middle of the night, which is when they're normally out and active."

Brunicardi said officers scouted the area for the mountain lion but were unable to locate it. He said the Peninsula Humane Society and the California Department of Fish and Game have been notified of the sighting.