Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Authorities in Indiana spent four hours searching unsuccessfully for two lions reported to be on the loose in the area of Madison and Hancock Counties.
The Madison County Sheriff's Department said deputies responded about 10 a.m. Thursday to a report of "two large, exotic felines" on a property along South County Road 50 West.
"A local resident reported observing what appeared to be a 300-pound lioness wearing a blue harness alongside a smaller cub estimated at 100 to 150 pounds," the sheriff's department said. "The reporting party stated the animals were traveling southwest before visual contact was lost."
Deputies searched the area for four hours alongside personnel Hancock County Sheriff's Department and the Indiana State Police. Ground units and thermal drones were unable to locate any large felines in the area.
A WXIN-TV report indicated the animals had earlier been spotted by a drone operator, but Madison County officials said the presence of lions on the loose is still being treated as unconfirmed.
