October 17, 2004 in Idaho

What a fright: Bear breaks in

Associated Press
 

OSBURN, Idaho – A young bear apparently frightened by a car decided the safest place to hide was in the driver’s home.

Becky Stein said her husband, Hip Stein, was just pulling into their driveway when she heard a crash coming from a basement window. Moments later, she heard footsteps on the roof.

That’s when Becky Stein took the opposite approach, running out to her husband’s car to call 911.

Hip Stein said two bears were frightened by his approaching car. One apparently jumped on the roof of the house. The other jumped into a basement window like it was a swimming pool instead of glass, he said.

The man opened his front door and the garage door, hoping the animal would wander back outside, but the bear never left the basement.

It did, however, break three windows and ravage the Stein’s home office.

“I don’t know why he didn’t jump out that window,” Hip Stein said.

When attempts to scare the bear out of the home failed, Shoshone County Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed it.

Sheriff Chuck Reynalds said the animal weighed 50 or 60 pounds and was likely under a year old.

© Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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