Bear steals, trashes northern California family's Toyota Prius during vacation

A northern California family has a summer vacation story that's almost too much to believe: a bear stole their car.

They McCarthy family says they were on vacation in Lake Tahoe when a bear broke into their vehicle, damaged the gear shift and crashed into a nearby yard.

Members of the family said the inside of their Toyota Prius was completely trashed.

"He had ripped out the back seat. There's nothing left. There's nothing left inside of our Prius. Gone," says CeCe McCarthy.

CeCe says the bear got into the parked car in front of her family's Lake Tahoe vacation home.

When a honking horn woke them up in the middle of the night, the family saw the bear trapped inside the vehicle, struggling to get out.

"The car was rocking," says Brian McCarthy.

Brian said he called 911, and when he looked out the window again, the Prius was gone.

The frustrated bear in the front seat went in reverse down the steep 25-foot driveway, slamming the Prius into a neighbors' front yard.

Several boulders on the lawn stopped the car from hitting the home.

The McCarthy family said somehow the bear was able to free himself from the car, never to be seen again.