Students at Stevenson Elementary School were allowed out for recess Friday, but only with Heath Police Lt. John Mason patrolling nearby in an all-terrain vehicle.
Mason spotted the coyote and followed him into the adjacent woods but did not want to fire his weapon.
“Definitely, I did not want to shoot while children were there or have them see the coyote put down,” Mason said. “My goal was to make sure he didn’t interfere with recess time.”
Trappers will go out today to re-set some traps, and two police officers volunteered to go out to hunt the coyote Sunday, Mason said.
Heath Schools Superintendent Trevor Thomas said students only will go out for recess next week when a police officer is present, although experts tell him a coyote will not attack people.
“When they see a human, they take off,” Thomas said. “When (the Ohio Department of Natural Resources) says they’re harmless, that’s probably what they mean.
