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EDITOR’S NOTE: Since originally publishing this story on Feb. 24, it has come to Yahoo Life’s attention that recent reporting has cast doubt on the authenticity of the stuffed bear at the Kentucky Fun Mall. According to the Wall Street Journal, “its story of how Cocaine Bear ended up in the state had some holes from the start,” including that country star Waylon Jennings had never purchased such bear, according to a spokesman for his son. “And after four weeks lying in the woods, the bear’s remains were too decomposed to be stuffed, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Finally, the real bear was a female, while Fun Mall calls it a male,” the story notes, crediting WAVE News, Louisville’s NBC station, for first reporting “that the Kentucky bear’s story wasn’t real.”
In response to the allegations on Monday, the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall owners declined to answer specific follow-up questions, but issued a statement to Yahoo Life saying:
“We begot, named, and raised the character Cocaine Bear® beginning in 2015. We're proud parents! If the media, fans, and the movie are Cocaine Bear’s apostles and gospellers, we’re Cocaine Bear’s Joseph, Mary, and Holy Spirit. Cocaine Bear is a beloved character—our collective savior.
“We’re pumped that amazing Hollywood creatives recognized our already-on-blast Cocaine Bear® and added rocket fuel to the rocket ship for the world’s collective enjoyment. Like everyone, we love the Cocaine Bear Movie. Cheers! Our taxidermy bear is 100% Cocaine Bear®.
“If you’re questioning whether our taxidermy bear is the exact one that overdosed, you have options regarding our Cocaine Bear,” including, the statement continues, “we created the most fantastic story ever. A story that carried it through hundreds of articles, podcasts, and memes that grew into a legend that lived in the public’s wildest dreams and fantasies. A story that was made into a highly anticipated film that Universal Pictures poured millions of dollars into it. If belief is your adventure, welcome to our beautiful Cocaine Bear® world. We love having you here.”
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Between the Mason jars containing Kentucky Derby winners’ horse poop and the neon-colored skeleton resting near an assortment of preserved chicken wings shelved at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington, Ky., it’s clear that owner Griffin VanMeter loves the weird parts of his state’s history.
“There’s an amazing history, amazing geography, and there’s a lot to celebrate about Kentucky,” he says, standing in the quirky retail shop housed in a historic factory building, once home to a parachute factory.
It's here that families travel from miles away to play games, drink Ale-8 soda and peruse window displays of kooky objects related to some of the Bluegrass State's beloved pioneers, from Colonel Sanders to the Hill Sisters, originators of the "Happy Birthday" song.
But most importantly, especially at this moment, the shop is the only place in the world where you can visit “Cocaine Bear” — yes, the real-life subject of the buzzy Cocaine Bear film, opening on Feb. 24 — in all its taxidermy-preserved glory.
“Here sits Cocaine Bear,” the metal epitaph around the stuffed-animal’s neck begins. “In 1985, Cocaine Bear was found dead in the Chattahoochee National Forest. He overdosed on 40 kilos of cocaine dropped by Andrew Thornton. … Don’t do drugs or you’ll end up dead (and maybe stuffed) like poor ‘Cocaine Bear.’”
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The stuffed body of Cocaine Bear can be found on display at Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall. (Photo: David Artavia)
On display here since 2015, the dearly departed creature has become the store’s biggest attraction — growing even more so in recent weeks due to the upcoming release of the Elizabeth Banks-directed fictional narrative about the bear’s final hours. Snugged tightly on the far-right side of the store, steps away from a Skee-Ball machine, he sits among mementos, like coins and flowers, that fans have left at his feet.
“We get a lot of visitors,” says VanMeter. “He’s a community hero, representing how bad drugs are and what could happen.”
“We heard about the movie and then I found out [Cocaine Bear] was in Lexington, so I said we have to make a stop,” a traveling hospital employee from Wisconsin, who was passing through the area with her family, says of the bear. “It’s crazy American history and we have to see it.”
The backstory of the now-famous black bear — who met his tragic end after consuming 75 pounds of cocaine smuggled in the U.S. by a notorious Kentucky drug lord and his ring — has fascinated locals here for nearly 40 years. Its tale begins in 1985, when Lexington-based police-officer-turned-drug-kingpin Andrew Thornton made a cocaine run from Colombia to Georgia.
En route back to Kentucky with another coke shipment and his accomplice Bill Leonard, Thornton boarded a light cargo aircraft — from which the men dumped more than three dozen plastic containers of cocaine into the wilderness below due to the flight being overweight (Leonard later said it was because Drug Enforcement Administration jets were following them). What happened next is unclear, though it's widely believed the plane began to malfunction, forcing Thornton and Leonard to parachute out — only Thornton’s parachute failed to open (an irony not missed by VanMeter, whose store, remember, was once a parachute factory). While the unmanned plane crashed in North Carolina, Thornton, wearing his Gucci loafers, died on impact, his body soon discovered by police in Knoxville, Tenn., along with a duffel bag containing $15 million worth of cocaine.
It would take another three months for the black bear to be found dead in northern Georgia, after having ingested $2 million worth of Thornton’s narcotics. A December 1985 clipping from the New York Times reported that its carcass was discovered “among 40 opened plastic containers” of cocaine. That’s a lot of drugs.
Of the story’s local ties, says VanMeter, “All those guys lived here and we grew up with their kids and their nephews. Our parents' generation, in general, was kind of involved in all of that, and everybody has a bit of their own little story connected to it.”
Griffin VanMeter, co-owner of the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall, poses in front of the real Cocaine Bear, which has been on display at the store since 2015. (Photo: David Artavia)
Indeed, a Lexington resident notes while in the shop recently, “We’ve been coming here for years. We’ve always been fans of Cocaine Bear. We read The Bluegrass Conspiracy, and we’re looking forward to the movie.”
The “bluegrass conspiracy,” as coined by author Sally Denton in her book-length investigation of the scandal, describes the exploits of Lexington’s most rich and powerful families and their involvement in international drug and weapons smuggling in the 1980s. Denton's reporting found corruption at the highest level of state government, as well in the police force itself, giving corrupt cops the "Cocaine Cowboys" nickname at the time. (According to local legend, Woody Harrelson’s hitman father, Charles Harrelson, even played a role in these crimes, says VanMeter.)
Over the course of 40 years, the stuffed bear has been stolen, bought and changed hands, bringing it from Georgia (where it was found) to Tennessee and Nevada before making its way to Kentucky — likely covering more ground than it ever roamed in its actual life, notes VanMeter, who has a background in marketing.
