Tri-Cities Stories That Deserve the 'Cocaine Bear' Treatment

I'm really excited about the upcoming release of Cocaine Bear, a horror/black comedy film based on a very wild and very true story of a massive black bear that managed to ingest an entire duffle bag's worth of... well, cocaine. One of the reasons I have my eye on this film is because I want to see more movies like this get made. You know, insane local news stories that border on being urban legends or myths.

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Tri-Cities is one of those communities that seem aloof but if you bother to look, you will find plenty of unsavory things. We're a big city that still has its small-town feel even when you're jam-packed between two lifted trucks as traffic sprawls for miles down Highway 240. I'm just saying we have all the right ingredients for wild news stories and some of them sound like a movie script. These real stories from Tri-Cities would make for exciting films. By the way, I'll be giving them working titles.

One Survives

Pasco was left in horror after five men were killed by assailants strapped with semi-automatic weapons as the men were working at Medina's Body Shop. All six men tried to run or dive for cover but only one survived the 1987 attack. Justice would take years to be served and in the meantime, Pasco's crime rates plummeted after the department grew. One suspect was arrested six years after the murders while the other fled to Mexico and was arrested in 2007.

The Beaver Incident

The fall of 2018 saw Tri-Cities receive national notoriety after a homeless man was found sexually assaulting a beaver in Columbia Park. Reactions to the story were varied. Yes, virtually everyone was appalled but there was a small sliver of people who found the absurdity of the story somewhat humorous. The suspect was medically evaluated and charges were dropped, despite the man remaining in a mental hospital for some time after the incident. It's hard to find a person living in Tri-Cities who has no idea what you're talking about when you say "the beaver incident." It's too insane to be real, yet it is.

What crazy Tri-Cities news stories would make for crazy movies like Cocaine Bear?

LOOK: 38 Amazing Actors That Have Called Washington State Home

Sure, Washington is known for Amazon, coffee, wine, apples, grunge music, Microsoft, and Boeing. But you may not know how many actors and actresses have come from the Evergreen State. Yeah, our state has had an impact on the television and film industry. We've got A-listers, an Oscar winner, and faces of big franchises.

Check out our list below, I'm sure you'll find some surprises.

Filed Under: Cocaine Bear