COALDALE, Colo., July 20, 2005
Bear Attack Victim Talks
Describes Terror When He Woke Up To Find The Animal In His Tent
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Play CBS Video Video Teen: 'How Bear Attacked Me' Wildlife officials in Colorado are searching for a black bear that attacked 14-year old Keelan Patton. Keelan and his family tell The Early Show about the attack.
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From left, Keelan Patton, his mother, Jana Patton, and cousin, Brenden Rice (CBS/The Early Show)
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Keelan Patton of Pampa, Texas, and a 12-year-old cousin, Brenden Rice, were sleeping at a campground near Coaldale when a black bear barged into their tent about 1 a.m.
Patton's mother, grandmother and sister were sleeping in a nearby camper.
After a brief scuffle, the bear took off. The boy was treated for the bite, scratches and bruises and released from the hospital.
"I woke up in pain, the pain just kinda woke me up. And I woke myself up screaming," Patton told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen Wednesday. "As soon as I could, I got to the other side of the tent as fast as I could as soon as he got off of me.
"I think I punched him once or twice," Patton said with a chuckle.
Patton says he was left with "a jaw mark around my head. I have a scratch (on my right temple). And, on my hand, I have an inch-and-a-half, two-inch gash. I had 24 stitches. And I have a bite mark on my arm."
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