A bear that had sought refuge in a tree in a Port Coquitlam, B.C., residential area — and had concerned neighbours about the possible danger to trick-or-treatters — has vanished.

Tamara McPhee said the bear, which may be injured, was up a tree in the 3100 block of Raleigh Street.

Officials told her the bear may have been the same animal that was hit by a car two days ago.

"I'm really quite concerned that … it's injured and it’s been sitting up there in pain,” she said.

But the bear somehow appears to have slipped away undetected after darkness fell, said CBC News reporter Dan Burritt from the scene.

Officials say the bear is too high up the tree to hit with a tranquilizer dart. (Dan Burritt/CBC)

“It’s fireworks going on tonight, if the fireworks scare the bear down, what happens with the kids running around? I can see the cul-de-sac from my yard and it's right exposed to the area where the bear is,” McPhee said earlier.

McPhee says conservation officers tried to hit the bear with a tranquilizer Tuesday but were unsuccessful.

She says the bear was about 25 metres up the tree, which officers said was too high for them to reach with a dart.