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300‑pound bear breaks into car in Colorado, dies after getting trapped inside

Nbcwashington · · 233 words · By Julia Elbaba
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What to know about 300‑pound bear breaks into car in Colorado, dies after getting trapped inside

A 300-pound black bear died in Colorado after breaking into a parked car and becoming trapped inside.

Claims checked 6
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A 300-pound black bear died in Colorado after breaking into a parked car and becoming trapped inside.

Why it matters

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the bear entered an unlocked vehicle in central Colorado Springs, destroyed the interior and became stuck.

Common ground

The animal died inside the car and went undiscovered for days in the heat.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/300-pound-bear-breaks-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
report Misleading 1
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Claim 1: “CPW estimates the bear weighed 300 pounds”
CORROBORATED
Multiple reports explicitly state that Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) estimated the bear's weight at approximately 300 pounds.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the state parks in the U.S. State of Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the state park system to accommodate both outdoor recreation and tourism. There are currently forty…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Colorado_state_parks
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Colorado state wildlife areas are managed for hunting, fishing, observation, management, and preservation of wildlife. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife division of the U.S. State of Colorado manage…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Colorado_state_wildlif…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Parks_and_Wildlife_Depar…
+ 3 more evidence sources
report
Claim 2: “That number is nearly double the 3,115 reports recorded during the same period in 2025.”
MISLEADING
While the number 3,115 is cited as the previous year's figure, the claim states this occurred in '2025'. However, the evidence provided in the web search results contains a chronological contradiction: some sources say 'last year' while others explicitly say 'during the same period in 2025'. Given that the current reports are described as 'this year' and 'record year', citing 2025 as the previous year implies the current year is 2026. However, one source explicitly says 'last year' while others say '2025'. The claim is technically supported by the provided text, but the date '2025' as a past reference is logically inconsistent with standard current timelines unless the current date is 2026, making the presentation of the date potentially deceptive or an error in the source text.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rage (stylised as rage) is an all-night Australian music video program broadcast on ABC Television since 1987, hosted by a large number of guest presenters since 1990. This article lists the presenter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rage_guest_programmers
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called ACA Neo Geo focuses on re-releasing SNK's Neo Geo titles in their original MVS …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcade_Archives
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — August 13 is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 140 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_13
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “From Jan. 1 through Aug. 13, CPW received 6,129 reports of bear sightings and conflicts.”
CORROBORATED
The specific figure of 6,129 reports between Jan 1 and Aug 13 is confirmed by a cross-reference (Krdo) and multiple independent web search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Estes Park () is a statutory town in southwestern Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estes_Park,_Colorado
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fairplay is the statutory town that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Park County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 724 at the 2020 United States census. Fair…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairplay,_Colorado
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Park is a grassland flat within the basin formed by the Rocky Mountains' Mosquito and Rampart Mountain Ranges within central Colorado. This high valley ranges in elevation from approximately 9,0…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park_(Park_County,_Color…
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “The animal died inside the car and went undiscovered for days in the heat.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the bear died inside the car and remained undiscovered for several days in the heat.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A black bear managed to get into a car in Colorado and died while unable to get out, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/22/black-bear-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The carcass remained undiscovered inside the car for several days.Trapped-animal fatalities are among several recent conflicts, including an August 17 incident where a bear injured a man outside an ap…
https://www.fakta.co/black-bear-dies-trapped-colorado-vehicl…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The animal died inside the car and went undiscovered for several days in the summer heat before being found. Wildlife officials estimated the bear weighed roughly 300 pounds and believe it was likely …
https://www.ibtimes.com.au/record-bear-activity-colorado-dro…
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Claim 5: “A 300-pound black bear died in Colorado after breaking into a parked car and becoming trapped inside.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that a black bear weighing approximately 300 pounds died after becoming trapped in an unlocked car in Colorado Springs.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Colorado Springs is a home rule city that is the county seat of and the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02%…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — State Highway 300 (SH 300) is a 3.356-mile (5.401 km) state highway in Lake County, Colorado, United States, that connects the Leadville National Fish Hatchery with U.S. Route 24 (US 24) southeast of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_State_Highway_300
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Austin is the capital of the U.S state of Texas. Its metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in the state, with 2.5 million people. As of 2026, Austin is home to 66 completed buildings taller than 300…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_A…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the bear entered an unlocked vehicle in central Colorado Springs, destroyed the interior and became stuck.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including the Colorado Springs Gazette and other news reports, confirm CPW's statement that the bear entered an unlocked vehicle in central Colorado Springs and destroyed the interior before becoming stuck.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the state parks system and the wildlife of the U.S. state of Colorado. Responsibilities include state parks, wildlife areas, and the Colorado Natural Areas Program.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Parks_and_Wildlife
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Colorado Springs geography describes geographical topics regarding the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado in El Paso County, Colorado. With 194.87 sq mi (504.7 km2) of land, it is the state's largest…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Colorado_Springs,…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — There are a wide range of recreational areas and facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_in_Colorado_Springs,_Col…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.