ESSEX COUNTY, N.J. (WPIX) — A New Jersey park is reopening, nearly a week after a coyote attacked a 13-year-old girl, her dog, and another woman.
South Mountain Reservation in New Jersey has been shut down for five days, but reopens Thursday, as police are still on the lookout for the coyote.
The attacks happened last week, in a wooded area near a dog park on Bear Lane in the Maplewood portion of South Mountain Reservation, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office.
About 90 minutes later another woman was attacked around the same wooded area. The girl suffered a bite to the leg, while the dog, a Maltese Shih Tzu, lost an eye. The coyote, who authorities believe is rabid, hasn’t been seen since.
After the attacks, half a dozen members of the Essex County Sheriff’s Office searched South Mountain Reservation for the coyote, but they were unable to locate it. New Jersey wildlife experts were also called in to help find, trap, or kill the coyote.
Police warn anyone visiting the reservation to be “extremely cautious” of the coyote.