Bear breaks into North Naples home

Published: Updated:
Photo via viewer Nicole Iannaccone

A woman in North Naples said a bear made a huge mess in her home.

She picked up the phone right away to call 911.

“My kids opened the door and I see this huge mess. My refrigerator doors were open. Everything was pulled to the ground,” said North Naples resident Nicole Iannaccone. “My dishwasher open. Cabinets open.”

Iannacone and her daughters came home to quite the disturbance Friday night at their home in Sterling Oaks.

“My window that I always have shut was drawn all the way open,” Iannaccone said. “My lanai was totally trashed.”

Iannaccone thought someone was creeping inside her home.

“I got scared, I thought there had been an intruder” I said, ‘Get out get out,’ told the kids to get out of the house,” Iannaccones said.

After a thorough search, Collier County deputies found remnants of the suspect.

“They found some bear hair attached to the window,” Iannaccone said. “They found paw prints in the ice cream.”

A bear broke through the screen, and somehow opened up the window for an adventure.

“Everything was on the floor the glass was broken,” Iannaccone said. “Our intruder had not only spent time in the kitchen, he just made his way through the home.”

Before the bear made its move inside, Shayden Iannaccone said she spotted one lurking around just a few days prior.

“I looked up and I looked out and the bear is standing right there,” Shayden said. “I started like, ‘It’s a bear, it’s a bear, it’s a bear.'”

Now if the bear comes back, the Iannaccone’s say they’re making sure their home is bear proofed.

“I would never in my right mind assume that living here, a bear would break into my home,” Nicole said. “So now I’m just going to be more cautious and more aware.”

The Florida, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said to make sure to secure your trash and other scents that bears can be attracted to.

If you spot a bear, you should call FWC at 863-648-3200.

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