Harbison forest to stay closed during search for attack dogs. Here’s how long

Harbison State Forest will stay closed until at least Tuesday, July 22, as officials hunt for two vicious pit bull-type dogs that recently attacked joggers.

“That will give us more time to let the traps work that have been put out,” S.C. Forestry Commission spokesman Russell Hubright said.

“If you have a bunch of people on the trail, the traps might not work as well,” he said.

Harbison State Forest, a 2,1.37-acre nature preserve with popular jogging, hiking and mountain bike trails, is located just nine miles from downtown Columbia and is bordered on the east by the Broad River and on the west by Broad River Road.

Other techniques to hunt the pair of dangerous dogs — such as drones with infrared cameras to spot heat signatures and trail cameras — are being used in the hunt.

Signs have also been posted saying, “Aggressive dogs have been encountered on Harbison State Forest and surrounding areas. Please use caution. If spotted, please call 911 and 803-896-8890.”

On Saturday morning, July 12, veteran South Carolina federal prosecutor Winston Holliday, 57, was ambushed by two pit bull-type dogs who Holliday said hunted him, circled him and kept biting him while he fought them off.

Although Holliday is a runner and fit, the dogs wore him down and might have killed him if a jogger — an off-duty Lexington police officer — hadn’t by chance come upon the scene and frightened the dogs off. Holliday had 17 stitches on his bite wounds and is undergoing rabies shots.

The day before, Friday afternoon, July 11, another jogger was set upon by two pit bull-type dogs matching the descriptions of the ones that attacked Holliday. Connor McNeill, 19, who recently graduated from Irmo High School, managed to jump atop a tree stump and hit and kick the dogs for 30 minutes until his twin sister and aunt drove to Harbison and frightened the dogs off.

McNeill told The State newspaper that his aunt and sister — who located him through Find my iPhone app — arrived just in time because he was getting too tired to keep fighting the dogs. Unlike Holliday, he was not bitten.

So far, officials have rounded up some dogs, but none were believed to be the attackers, officials said.

Richland County and City of Columbia animal control officers are participating in the hunt.

Hubright said when Harbison reopens, people should keep basic safety in mind and not go out on the trails alone.

“A person really shouldn’t ever come out here by themselves to run or hike or ride your bike. There’s always safety in numbers. Even if you sprain your ankle, and you are way out there on the back 40, how are you going to get out? Nobody would know about you, and you might not have cellphone phone coverage out there,” Hubright said.

Besides visiting with a partner, a person should make sure their phone is charged and a location locator app is activated on their phone, he said.

“Have some folks who know where you are and who can see you on the phone,” he said.

Top officials at the S.C. Forestry Commission who are familiar with state and local forest situations made the decision to keep Harbison closed, he said.

The commission posted its Harbison closure extension announcement on Facebook, saying, “Extending the forest’s closure will allow more time for the eight dog traps to work.

“During this time, personnel are installing additional trail cameras and continuing to search the forest with drones and on trails. Crews have patrolled the entire trail system and off-trail paths multiple times and will continue to do so.”

Holliday, who is recovering from his injuries, said he was pleased with the actions taken by law enforcement to date.

“Clearly, they are putting a lot of resources into finding those dogs in the woods. Increasingly, I’m convinced that if the dogs were actually loose, they would have found them. So it’s my opinion that the owner of the dogs has them locked up inside or hidden away, and that’s where they are,” Holliday said.