Cole Frazee went to check on his dad at a Family Dollar store in Markleysburg, Pennsylvania, when things took a scary turn. The 11-year-old boy spotted a black bear staring at him outside the store. What happened next was something he will never forget.
The bear didn’t just look at him. It started running straight toward Cole. He had barely any time to think before he found himself racing into the store with the animal right on his heels. According to The New York Post, the whole thing was caught on the store’s security cameras.
Cole told the media that the bear was incredibly close when he ran inside. “When it runs after me, I turn around, I run in the store, I’m screaming and stuff. The thing was like a foot and a half away from me,” he said. He really thought something terrible might happen to him. “I was like, ‘I’m probably going to get eaten by a bear. I took a left and the bear went straight.”
Things got even scarier once they tried to escape
Cole ran up and down the store aisles looking for safety. The only other person there was the cashier working that day. When they saw their chance, both of them climbed up on the checkout counter. They waited until the bear looked away, then made a run for the door.
The cashier grabbed her things and they both rushed outside to the car. But what happened right after they left was the most frightening part. The store’s cameras caught the huge bear jumping right over that same counter where they had been standing just seconds earlier.
An 11-year-old boy runs into a Pennsylvania Family Dollar with a black BEAR right behind him
The bear charges through the doors and leaps over the counter, sending everyone scrambling for cover
‘I’m probably going to get eaten by a bear’, boy says pic.twitter.com/lAurnwtear
— RT (@RT_com) November 19, 2025
The bear walked around the Family Dollar for roughly 10 minutes before it finally left. Cole said he felt lucky to be safe after everything that happened. He called it a really wild experience that he won’t soon forget.
Male black bears can get pretty big, sometimes reaching 600 pounds, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Female bears are usually smaller at around 200 pounds. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said bears are hunting for food right now, which means people might run into them more often. Officials are telling people to stay alert when they’re outside, especially in places where bears live nearby.