GATLINBURG, Tenn. — A family from the Tri-State had a close encounter with a bear this weekend. The Paschka family is originally from Cincinnati's west side and currently resides in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. They're on vacation in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Kevin Paschka told WCPO 9 News that they learned a valuable lesson about how to keep bears out of their car.
"Went inside, came back out maybe an hour, hour and a half later, and the door was open to our SUV," said Paschka.
At first, he thought someone in his family forgot to close the door to the car, as they were unloading their suitcases and groceries into their cabin at Heaven's Cabins. But Paschka remembered to close all of the doors, and so did his family members. Then, they noticed something unusual inside their car.
"There were clearly like dirty dusty paw prints on the door," said Paschka.
They may have closed the doors, but they didn't lock them. Then they discovered dirt on the seats and the armrest of their SUV.
"We've had run-ins with bears but never where they opened the door to a car and got in it," said Paschka.
Turns out, the vacation spot has surveillance cameras. They were able to look at the tape, which confirmed what they thought. You see a bear on surveillance, getting into the car and looking through it.
"The second bold item in the welcome packet is to make sure you lock car doors," said Paschka.
WCPO 9 News found that warning in the Heaven's Cabins FAQ where it says bears are present in the vicinity and they can open car doors.
"Luckily, like I said, we had just gotten back from the grocery store and we had taken everything out of there because if we had not I'm afraid he would've trashed the whole inside of the car," said Paschka. "That's the most beneficial thing, is make sure you lock up, because again, I had no clue they could open car doors.
