Contributed photo / Cocaine Bear was dressed and ready for Mardi Gras in his now permanent home at the Kentucky For Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington, Ky.If the title alone doesn't grab you, the real-life events behind "Cocaine Bear," the feature-length film set to open in theaters Friday, should.
Described by director Elizabeth Banks as a horror-comedy, the movie stars Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr. and the late Ray Liotta.
In the film, a drug smuggler tosses a bag full of cocaine from an overloaded airplane in North Georgia, where a black bear finds and ingests a good bit of it and goes on a murderous rampage, resulting in much carnage and on-screen hijinks.
The tagline on the movie's promotional poster is "Don't coke the bear."
According to a variety of newspaper articles, the true story of the cocaine bear took place in September 1985 when a convicted drug smuggler named Andrew Thornton, who was linked to a Kentucky-based drug ring known as "The Company," offloaded several duffel bags of cocaine while flying over northern Georgia during a run from Colombia.
A 175-pound black bear found and ingested some of the cocaine and subsequently overdosed, resulting in its death. The bear was discovered in the Chattahoochee National Forest three months later next to about 40 plastic containers of cocaine. According to officials at the time, the bear did not harm any humans after ingesting the drugs.
Thornton died, however, after jumping from the overloaded plane he abandoned above Knoxville when his parachute was rendered faulty. His body was found in a driveway in Knoxville with 75 pounds of cocaine valued at around $14 million in a duffel bag along with weapons and cash, according to Associated Press reports at the time. The plane crashed some 60 miles away in North Carolina.
Today, the bear is on display at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington, Kentucky.
Griffin VanMeter is co-owner of the attraction along with Whit Hiler. VanMeter said in an email that people have been infatuated with the Cocaine Bear since news articles about it first appeared. People can see the bear in person in Lexington, but they can also visit kyforky.com to purchase T-shirts, key chains and many other types of Cocaine Bear-related merchandise.
"Cocaine Bear brings tremendous joy to all who hear the story and learn of its wild wildlife," VanMeter said.
He said the movie has only increased the story's appeal as the attraction prepares to take the stuffed bear, also known as Pablo Eskobear, on a North American tour.
"Cocaine Bear was already a global phenomenon before the movie and is now even more prominent," he said. "About 75,000 people come annually, and millions of visitors visit the website."
VanMeter said he and Hiler tracked down the taxidermy bear in 2015 "to share his legend and what we learned about his post-overdose provenance."
He said the bear has also become a city mascot and a warning of the dangers of drug abuse.
"Before we searched for Cocaine Bear's stuffed remains, he was a forgotten footnote in the story of 'The Bluegrass Conspiracy,'" he said, referencing a book retelling of Thornton's drug trafficking. "His demise is now well-documented, and his mythologized final hours are about to hit the silver screen, but post-death, his story gets even weirder and more convoluted."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.