Chatting with the Chief: Mysterious Noises and Cougar Sightings

Just in time for Halloween, the streets of Saratoga have had their share of spooky noises both at night and in the daylight. Saratoga is also currently the prowling grounds for a male mountain lion, who has been seen around the hobo hot pools according to Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris.

Out with a bang

In recent weeks, Saratoga residents have reported noises they’ve described as either a gunshot or an explosion. The current reports have put the noises near the west end of town, but this isn’t the first time such sounds have been reported, according to Morris.

“Going back a couple of years, we’ve had complaints from time to time about noises that were very similar,” said Morris “Some residents described them as gunshots, some more as explosions. Sometimes they are accompanied by flashes of light as well and we’ve had them in several areas of town.”

Most recently, before the reports this fall, there had been reports of loud bands on the east side of Saratoga. The more industrial zone for the town, the lumber mill is located in this area as are construction and maintenance shops. Similar to the ones heard recently, Morris said the Saratoga Police Department doesn’t yet have any leads on the source for the noises.

“The latest event that we had was up on the west end of Saratoga. It was on a Friday we had a report of a couple of what were described as gunshots, some people reported them as explosions,” said Morris. “This one was during the day. I was not very far from the area when it happened. I did not hear the noises.”

Morris said after speaking with the reporting parties and their neighbors, he had narrowed it down to a block radius but couldn’t get any more detailed than that. That, however, wouldn’t be the only time such noises were heard in the area. That Saturday, at night, similar sounds were heard and this time were accompanied with flashes of light.

One of the differences here is that we had several reports that there was a loud diesel truck in the area at the time,” said Morris. “We can’t say for sure if it was involved or happened to be a coincidence.”

While there haven’t been any reports since, Morris reminds residents to call the police department as soon as suspicious noises are heard. He also asked for some preemptive work on the behalf of residents, asking them to take note of any suspicious people or vehicles in their neighborhood which may have some connection to the noises.

With it being close to Halloween, Morris said the Saratoga Police Department could most definitely rule out any extraterrestrial or supernatural suspects. They have also been able to rule out fireworks or acetylene bombs as no debris or residue has been found in the area of the loud noises.

“Speaking of Halloween, we have had sporadic reports of egging and a little Halloween mischief that goes on. A reminder to those that would partake in that type of activity, it seems like fun and games but it really can do damage to vehicles,” said Morris. “A paint job on a vehicle right now is fairly expensive. Although it can seem like good, clean fun, it’s really not.”

Cougar sighted

Along with the loud noises, there have been sightings of a cougar in town around the area of the municipal swimming pool and hobo hot pools.

“The first report of it was actually one of the dispatchers caught the mountain lion on the camera. It was walking west, coming from the dressing room at the hobo pool itself,” said Morris. “It was walking along the grass (and) when it got towards the west end of the swimming pool building it jumped off the retaining wall there.”

At the time of the first sighting, Morris said the department was unable to determine the size or sex of the mountain lion. A few days after the initial sighting, said Morris, another sighting was reported.

“There were some folks walking their dog and it was over on the bridge between Veterans Island and the hobo pool. Sergeant (Ken) Lehr was able to respond over there, he did get eyes on the cat. It started to move and it actually treed at that point,” said Morris. “A little bit later than evening, Sergeant Lehr was again able to get eyes on the cat over by the green bridge of the Saratoga Inn.”

According to Morris, when Lehr attempted to get the cougar to move along it showed little to no fear of humans. Lehr finally got the large cat to move along after shooting with with some pepperballs.

“This does not appear to be the three-legged cat that everyone had eyes on this spring. It certainly doesn’t show any signs of injury when it’s walking around. It appears to be a large, male cat,” said Morris. “It’s got a pretty dark tail, a black stripe down the back. It may be moving through, it may think this is a good place to stay. Either way, it’s worrisome that it’s in a populated area, a place that’s frequented by children and dogs.”

Following the sighting this spring, Morris said the Wyoming Game and Fish Department brought a large carnivore class to Carbon County to educate law enforcement. Based on that class, Morris said while chances of attacks from cougars are rare they are not unheard of. He reminded residents that, when it comes to sighting a mountain lion, they should try to make themselves appear larger and make some noise before backing away slowly while keeping eyes on the animal. They should then contact the Saratoga Police Department as soon as possible.

The Saratoga Police Department is currently working with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department on options to remove the cougar from town limits.

Finally, if people see a large purple cat around town they shouldn’t have anything to fear. It’s not a cougar, but the new purple panther decals for some of the Saratoga Police Department pursuit vehicles.