The State - News from April 11, 1988

Police and state Fish and Game Department officials sought a huge cat, possibly a panther, that was spotted near Fairfield. The cat was seen several times in recent days in the hills at the edge of Fairfield, 35 miles north of San Francisco. Police also found a paw print measuring 3 inches long. Witnesses estimated the big black cat was about 150 pounds, 2 feet high and 3 feet long. “If it’s black, and if it’s as big as they say, then my guess would be it’s a leopard or a jaguar,” said Lori Collard, a cat trainer at Marine World/Africa USA in nearby Vallejo. “We’re taking it seriously,” Police Sgt. Hart Beebe said.