Bear freed from vehicle

TRUCKEE — Police officers broke a car window to free a black bear that had trapped itself Sunday night.

According to a statement from the Truckee Police Department, the male bear locked itself inside an SUV at Stuart Staithe Road in the Glenshire subdivision and caused significant damage to the interior. The car’s owner could not be found, so officers broke a window to release the bear.

It was the third such incident in two weeks in Truckee, officers said. A bear got stuck in a car in Prosser Lakeview the night of Oct. 8, and was let out by the car’s owner.

Also, in the early morning Sept. 30, a bear got stuck in a car on Alder Drive near Alder Creek Middle School, and the animal broke a window to escape.

“There was major damage to all three of these vehicles,” officers said. “Imagine what a stressed, angry bear could do stuck in your car.”