AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — Deputies with the Avery County Sheriff’s Office had a strange encounter this weekend after a 250-pound bear was found in a minivan.
When they arrived at home near Banner Elk, they couldn’t open the doors of the van due to the bear’s cubs also being inside.
They believe the mama bear managed to get the door of the minivan open before she and her cubs climbed inside and closed the door behind them.
Channel 9′s Dave Faherty spoke with those deputies about what they did next to reunite the little bear family. The encounter was captured on body camera video.
The first thing they did was pick up some rope that would be used to help get the bear and her cubs out before arriving at the home.
Unfortunately, there was so much damage to the minivan’s sliding door that it wouldn’t open. So deputies tied the rope to the front door handle, allowing the mama bear to exit the vehicle.
“I didn’t know what to think. It was kind of a scary situation,” Deputy Tom Guinn told Faherty.
Deputies said at first they were not aware that there were cubs inside the minivan until the mama bear turned around, got up on her hind legs, and refused to leave.
“You had to get real close to the back window, and all we could see were snouts and eyes. It was looking right at us,” Deputy Scott Bray said.
However, about ten minutes later, deputies were able to coax the cubs out of the van.
Faherty learned that the bears were reunited behind the home, including a separate cub that had climbed a tree while its family was inside the van.
It was revealed that the minivan, which suffered thousands of dollars in damage, was a rental, but luckily the renters had insurance.
The sheriff said it’s important to remember to lock your doors, as well as not leave food inside your vehicles while in the mountains.
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