 | Normally docile, Bleeth resorts to violence when cornered |
VAIL, CO - Officials are warning local residents to be on the lookout for former "Baywatch" actress Yasmine Bleeth, who has been awoken from hibernation and is now running wild in the surrounding mountainside. They urge the townspeople to remain calm, but be vigilant against the threat.
Police say Bleeth, 39, was planning on peacefully resting for the duration of winter and have located the cave in which she was to spend her period of hibernation. They aren't sure why she was disturbed, but they believe some hunters looking for bears out-of-season may have accidentally awakened the slumbering "Nash Bridges" alum.
"We feel it's entirely possible that Ms. Bleeth could have been startled by humans trespassing on her lair, and she may be responding more out of a defense mechanism than any malevolence," Sherriff Joe Estes told reporters Thursday. "Ms. Bleeth has not indicated any previous history of aggressive behavior, except when confronted with endless hordes of autograph-seekers. Pushed into a corner like that, there's no telling what means she might resort to."
Locals report widespread scavenging of garbage dumpsters in the area since Ms. Bleeth's premature emergence from hibernation. Lonnie Donaldson, of Lonnie's Skylodge Alpine Cuisine fame, reports that he has found the dumpsters torn to pieces often early in the morning, just before dawn. "We had one camera set up, to catch Ms. Bleeth in the act," Donaldson said.
"We got her red-handed, but then again it could have been a bear. It's hard to tell from the grainy footage."
Bleeth, who has had a history of drug abuse and trying to intimidate hunters, is a well-known sight in Vail, having moved there early in 2003 to seek a release from the rat-race of Hollywood and to rip fish with her massive jaws in relative peace. Residents have reported that, prior to the latest incident, the former "Baywatch" actress was known to be docile, friendly to humans, and always well-dressed. She rarely appeared in the downtown area except on the rare occasion when she needed a new coat of Gucci or Armani. Most of the time, according to tavern-keeper Sheila James, "she just went around gathering wood and leaves to hibernate for a few months, usually from October to January."
 | Police survey Bleeth's latest attack |
James also added "Yasmine is always gentle with my kids, letting them pet her on the head and feed her berries."
She says that the Bleeth being reported as "vicious" and "drama queen-esque" is not the Bleeth she knows.
Police have cordoned off an area of approximately five miles around the alleged lair of Ms. Bleeth, who may return at day to rest before embarking on a nocturnal campaign of destruction. Fresh droppings indicate that she was last traced to the dumpster of the Western Sizzler, which police say is a good sign.
"We've analyzed the droppings, and it seems that Ms. Bleeth is suffering from diarrhea. At some point, she's going to need some sort of relief, and we're fully ready to aid her if it means she will leave the community in peace."
Adds Donaldson, "Ms. Bleeth is more than welcome to sample our dumpsters, but I would think she'd get more out of the food served in the restaurant, fresh and not covered in feces. After all, she is one of the few people who can afford the things on our menu."
At press time, police had not been able to determine if an overturned trashcan near the mall was the work of Ms. Bleeth or her costar, Pamela Anderson, who is also known to frequent the area scavenging for fish guts and rotten apple cores.
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