A black bear was hit by a car inside the city limits of Cookeville Monday, June 25.

It happened at 11:28 a.m. in front of 1530 Bunker Hill Road, according to Cookeville Police Officer Greg Young.

The bear, a cub, limped away and has not been found, he said.

“A resident of Elk Driver was driving her car south on Bunker Hill Road, and she saw what she first thought was a dog on the side of the road.

“But when the animal ran across the road in front of her, she saw it was a black bear, and her car struck the bear,” Officer Young said.

The bear was knocked down by the car but jumped up and ran from the scene, holding one leg up,” he said.

“Neighbors in the area said they have seen two cubs in that area recently, and we figure there is a mother bear somewhere.”

Within 30 minutes of the car/bear accident, another resident of the area reported seeing the injured bear,” Officer Young said.

“But we couldn’t find it.”

He said damage to the woman’s car was to the hood, grill and bumper and said it amounts to about $1,500.

“From the way she described the bear, it was about the size of a large dog, maybe 30 to 35 inches high at the shoulder.”

Black bears usually will not attack, but if one is injured, it might “be mean if bothered,” the officer said.

“It’s best to stay away if you see a black bear,” he said.

He said he has heard of reports of black bear sightings in the Center Hill Lake area in recent weeks but believes this is the first time a bear has been reported inside the city limits of Cookeville.

“They are in this general area,” he said.

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A Cookeville man wanted for the murder of his girlfriend last year is now in custody in Indiana, according to the Cookeville Police Department.

Officers here will travel to Indiana to return Timothy Wayne Cloyd, 54, to face the charge of second degree murder in the April 10, 2011 death of Sandra Tinsley, 46, of Lee Seminary Road, Detective Lt. Carl Sells said.

The case has recently been featured on the Cookeville Crime Stoppers program, with Cloyd’s photograph posted on the Internet.

It began on April 10, 2011, when Sandra Tinsley was found dead in her home by a man who was staying with Tinsley and Cloyd, police said.

She had died of blunt force trauma, and she and Cloyd had a history of domestic violence, detectives said at the time.

In fact, an anonymous caller had contacted police around midnight the night before the body was found and had requested that police go out and check on the occupants of the Tinsley home.

Officers did check and found Cloyd and Billie Rush there, both appearing to be intoxicated. The officers asked about Sandra Tinsley, and the two men said she may have left the residence earlier that evening, police reports said.

Upon checking for outstanding warrants on the two men, officers found that Cloyd was wanted for probation violation and they took him into custody on that charge.

Then the next morning around 8 a.m., Rush called police and said he had found Tinsley’s body in a back room at the house.

A lengthy investigation began at that time, but no arrest was made and Cloyd was later released.

It was not until recently that officers took steps to file a second degree murder charge against Cloyd for the death of Tinsley.

Detective Lt. Sells confirmed that Cloyd was in custody in Indiana and will be brought back to Cookeville.