Bear rips into NC man's vintage sports car to get a pack of cookies

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Tom Cotter says he'll leave the dents in his rare vintage car for a while to relish the Alaska vacation story behind it. It's not every day that a pricey collector's item is damaged by a bear breaking into the vehicle to steal cookies.

Cotter, of Davidson, North Carolina, told The Associated Press that he'll hold onto the experience because "it's bar-room talk."

Cotter's red 1965 289 Shelby Cobra sustained major damage to the vinyl roof and dents on the body when the bear broke into it last week at Alyeska Ski Resort, south of Anchorage.

Cotter said the 53-year-old roof was able to survive all these years, but it "couldn't manage to survive 11 days in Alaska."

Fellow traveler, Woody Woodruff of Charlotte, had left a package of Fig Newtons in the car, and the cookies were missing after the break-in.

Cotter was leaving Alaska on Monday after he toured the state for two weeks in his Cobra with several other car collectors, including Woodruff.

Cotter said he expects his insurance to bear the brunt of his damages. He said the car's value is "approaching seven figures."