Police: Severed foot was bear's paw, not child's

[September 26, 2008]  RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- Authorities in Alabama say a severed foot brought home by a family dog belongs to a bear -- and not a child as they first thought.

Police in Russellville spent two days searching surrounding wooded areas for a small child after a family dog brought the foot to its home late Saturday.

Chief Chris Hargett says the structure of the bear's foot was close enough to a human's to fool an orthopedic surgeon who examined it. But forensic tests later found its origin.

[Associated Press]

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