Black Country bear trail goes cold as grizzlies vanish
[gallery]It was supposed to be a bear hunt - but organisers have been left scratching their heads after two of the grizzlies disappeared without a trace.
They were two of the 30 sculptures which form the Bearwood Bear trail but they've gone missing just days before the attraction was due to draw to a close.
More than 1,000 people have followed the trail around the town since it was created.
But organisers were shocked to discover that two of the bears - decorated by the community - were no longer waiting to greet visitors along the route just over a week after it was launched.
One of the bears reported missing is number 6 which was outside Blunts shoe shop and decorated by Abbey Junior School. The second was created by the Warley Pacers running group.
Sally Jones from trail organisers We Are Bearwood said the group was staying positive despite the missing bears.
She said that while it was disappointing, they were still delighted with the huge turnout for the trail and the enthusiastic response from the community.
"The hunt is on. Two of the bears have gone on their very own bear trail. We're keeping it positive for two important reasons - one of the bears was decorated by Abbey Junior School children, so it's nice to get their imaginations going about where the bear might be having fun right now rather than disappoint them.
"And we actually think it's a positive reflection of the local community that of 30 totally unsecured bears, most of which have been left outside overnight, only two have gone walkies.
"What's more, we've decided to do a competition - if any local primary school age children want to make up a story about what fun and mischief these bears might be up to, we'll publish all of them on wearebearwood.org.
"If we get enough we'll make it into a competition and get some great local judges to decide on the winner," she added.
The 3ft tall wooden sculptures have been designed and decorated by 30 community groups based in and around the town.
The Express & Star first revealed the bear trail in this video earlier this month.
A map of the accessible route of just under two kilometres is available online.
It makes stops at Lightwoods Park, the High Street, Abbey Road and Warley Woods.
We Are Bearwood received money from the Big Lottery Fund to get the scheme off the ground.
Each sculpture is accompanied by a historical fact about Bearwood written on a pendant and a quiz is available online for those taking part.
In addition the group has made smaller, cardboard versions of the bears called cubs so people can decorate and make their own bear and display it in their garden or window.
The trail was unveiled on May 17 and will be available until Sunday.
To download the map go to www.wearebearwood.org
