K9 training exercise in Washington interrupted by wandering bear

Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A sheriff's office in Washington state said a K9 unit training exercise was interrupted when a black bear was spotted wandering 20 feet from where the deputy acting as a suspect was hiding.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said deputies were conducting a training exercise that involved a K9 unit tracking a suspect -- played by a deputy -- who fled on foot from a traffic stop and hid in the woods outside the sheriff's Cathcart facility.

Drones were used as part of the exercise, and one of the operators discovered a black bear was wandering through the area.

The deputy acting as the suspect said the bear came within 20 feet of where he was hiding in the woods.

The sheriff's drones tracked the bear until it wandered out of the area without incident.

"It is not unusual for bears to be spotted in south Snohomish County, although it is not very common," the sheriff's office said in the Facebook post.