FOWLER, Ind. (WTHR) - Fowler Police say they have reported a possible mountain lion sighting to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Wednesday night, Oct. 9, police say they received a report of a possible mountain lion seen near the 1100 block of East Main Street on the northern outskirts of town.
Police spoke to witnesses, then called the Benton County DNR.
DNR investigated another reported mountain lion sighting in Veedersburg in Fountain County within the past week.
The small town of Fowler, surrounded by windmills and farm fields, has about 2,200 residents.
And maybe a mountain lion.
"It just looked like one. I know what they look like and I know what dogs look like. So, it's just something I'd never seen before. That's what got me," said Judy Pieper.
Pieper was trimming trees in her backyard Wednesday afternoon when she saw the animal by the woods about 100 yards away.
"I saw something over here in the corner running and I dropped the limb and I was watching it and it was chasing a cat," she said.
Judy says the mountain lion chased the cat into a cornfield and caught it, came back out and ran off into the woods.
Clarence Williams was in the shed and didn't see the animal, but he called Fowler Police, who warned residents to use extreme caution.
We asked him about being called the title crazy neighbors who saw a mountain lion.
"I can live with that," Williams said, laughing. "We are watching regularly to see if we can spot him again."
Police asked Fowler residents to not leave children or small animals unattended outdoors.
Last year, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources investigated a photo captured by trail camera on a Johnson County farm.
"DNR wouldn't confirm and they wouldn't deny that it was a mountain lion. They were asking exactly where it was not wanting the general location, made us suspect that it was a mountain lion," said Julie Facemire, who lives on that farm.
Another was captured in Owen County last year.
DNR says it regularly receives reports of mountain lion sightings.
The Veedersburg report has been confirmed as a domestic house cat.
If a lion is spotted, do not approach it and call 911.