Officials warn of cougar on west side

Officials are warning residents on Carson City's west side to keep pets and children indoors after a mountain lion chased a man Tuesday afternoon along King Street near Ormsby Boulevard.

Ryan Sullivan, the 23-year-old son of former community development director Walt Sullivan, said he was jogging west in the dirt on the south side of Kings Canyon Road about 2:45 p.m. when he heard a high-pitched growl. He said he could also hear running, and when he looked around, he spotted the large cat pacing him on the hill about 50 yards away.

"I started running, but it kept up with me and was coming down the hill toward me. I saw it jumping over sagebrush. It was pretty terrifying," Sullivan said.

That's when Sullivan saw cars coming along he road.

"Since it was 2:45 or 3, people were probably picking up their kids from school, so I ran across the street to that housing subdivision with the park and it ran to the edge of the road, but didn't cross the street," he said.

Sullivan said he sat in the park for about 20 minutes to try to catch his breath and make sure he was safe from the mountain lion, also known as a cougar, before heading back to his car by another route.

City Manager Larry issued a warning Tuesday evening warning residents to "use caution and keep children and pets under close supervision at all times."

If the lion is spotted, people are urged to call 911.

"We've notified the sheriff's department and they're going to be putting up notices and reader boards. We've notified the Department of Wildlife, but there is no game warden here today. We'll also activate our reverse 911 notification system to alert the public," Werner said.

"To have this happen in broad daylight makes us nervous," he said.

Sheriff Ken Furlong said he didn't want people to panic.

"We are going to beef up patrols in that area pending the Department of Wildlife getting here," he said. "We are taking steps to protect people."

Werner said there also have been other unconfirmed reports, including a dog that was possibly killed by a mountain lion in the Lakeview area.

Werner said he remembers about 25 years ago, a cougar was found lying on the upstairs balcony of a downtown motel.

For more information, call the Sheriff's Office non-emergency dispatch at 775- 887-2011 or the Carson City Parks and Recreation Department at 775-887-2262.