Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 In 1985, police found the body of former police officer Andrew Thornton in the driveway of a home in Knoxville, Tennessee, wearing Gucci loafers and carrying roughly $14 million worth of cocaine While searching a forest nearby, they also found a torn-open duffel bag containing the remnants of 40 more bags of cocaine — and the body of a black bear nearby. Investigators suspected Thornton had dropped the duffel bag while diving out of a plane and it landed in a Georgia forest. "The bear got to it before we could, and he tore the duffel bag open, got him some cocaine and OD'd," a Georgia Bureau of Investigation officer said at the time. While a medical examiner reported that the bear had only three or four grams of cocaine in its bloodstream when it died, it's estimated that the bear may have eaten around 70 pounds of the drug before finally overdosing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderRiverCowboy Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Yep welcome to the party Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Unless it already been cut with milk sugar, or something similar, so it was sweet, I don't understand why the bear would eat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 28 minutes ago, Alpo said: Unless it already been cut with milk sugar, or something similar, so it was sweet, I don't understand why the bear would eat it. Because a bear will eat anydamnthing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracos Kid Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 As I am the now retired Special Agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who was directly involved in the Georgia portion of this case, I believe I can clarify any questions you may have about this incident. I am the person who transported the dead bear to the GBI Crime Lab at the request of Ga. Dept. of Natural Resources in order to determine not only the cause of death, but to also learn more about the age, general health and other factors for game management in the National Forest. Lab personnel were not pleased as the bear, even though in a body bag, permeated the facility with a decomposing stench. It was verified that the bear bit into one of the kilos of uncut cocaine, consuming only 6 grams before succumbing to the fatal dose. Thornton had pushed out a number of parachutes ( 7 that were recovered totalling 810 pounds ) that were connected to three duffel bags filled with 102 kilos all along a route from just south of Atlanta northward to the Tennessee and North Carolina line. Law Enforcement did not recover a large portion of the drugs as hunters and other private citizens stumbled onto the scenes in the wilderness area of North Georgia. There was no other product at the site of the dead bear, only the trash of the ripped open duffel bag. It had rained and light snow on the scene before Law Enforcement was notified of the find, so it is unkown who acquired the kilos from that site. Thornton was ripping off the group that had him pilot the plane, and he only wanted the duffel bag on his back as he parachuted from the plane. Unfortunately for him, as he jumped from the plane, he suffered a head injury, causing him to fail to pull his main chute, only pulling the reserve chute when he was so close to the ground that it did not fully open and he planted his feet about 6 inches into the gravel driveway in Knoxville. The plane, unoccupied and on auto pilot, crashed into a mountaintop due to lack of altitude with no one on the ground injured. I was contacted last year by the producers of the movie "Cocaine Bear", wanting to interview me for the movie. I refused, as I found the plot of that movie grossly pathetic, and I wanted no part of such idiocy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracos Kid Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Also, the Kentucky business that alleges they have the original cocaine bear on display is badly mistaken. Decomposition for the bear that I transported in a body bag was in no condition to be restored...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 1 hour ago, Gracos Kid said: As I am the now retired Special Agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who was directly involved in the Georgia portion of this case, I believe I can clarify any questions you may have about this incident. I am the person who transported the dead bear to the GBI Crime Lab at the request of Ga. Dept. of Natural Resources in order to determine not only the cause of death, but to also learn more about the age, general health and other factors for game management in the National Forest. Lab personnel were not pleased as the bear, even though in a body bag, permeated the facility with a decomposing stench. It was verified that the bear bit into one of the kilos of uncut cocaine, consuming only 6 grams before succumbing to the fatal dose. Thornton had pushed out a number of parachutes ( 7 that were recovered totalling 810 pounds ) that were connected to three duffel bags filled with 102 kilos all along a route from just south of Atlanta northward to the Tennessee and North Carolina line. Law Enforcement did not recover a large portion of the drugs as hunters and other private citizens stumbled onto the scenes in the wilderness area of North Georgia. There was no other product at the site of the dead bear, only the trash of the ripped open duffel bag. It had rained and light snow on the scene before Law Enforcement was notified of the find, so it is unkown who acquired the kilos from that site. Thornton was ripping off the group that had him pilot the plane, and he only wanted the duffel bag on his back as he parachuted from the plane. Unfortunately for him, as he jumped from the plane, he suffered a head injury, causing him to fail to pull his main chute, only pulling the reserve chute when he was so close to the ground that it did not fully open and he planted his feet about 6 inches into the gravel driveway in Knoxville. The plane, unoccupied and on auto pilot, crashed into a mountaintop due to lack of altitude with no one on the ground injured. I was contacted last year by the producers of the movie "Cocaine Bear", wanting to interview me for the movie. I refused, as I found the plot of that movie grossly pathetic, and I wanted no part of such idiocy. How long did it take ya'll to put all the pieces together? I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at that case conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 hmmm , never understood putting a mystery substance into your body by any means - i get it the bear figured it must be good those stupid humans are real possessive of it , must be great ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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