CHESTER — A Chester County woman flickered on her car’s headlights Monday night and saw what she described to deputies as a bear standing just feet away from her house.

Daisy Woodward called police and reported that a bear had been in her yard, Sheriff Richard Smith said.

According to J.C. Woodward, who lives in the same Blackstock house on Cornwell Road, the “pretty good size” bear crossed into their property from across the road. When Daisy Woodward flashed her lights on it, it ran back across the road and into the woods.

Deputies were unable to find the bear and aren’t actively searching for it, Smith said. They’ve notified the state Department of Natural Resources, which keeps a tally of any sightings.

Bear sightings in Chester County are unusual but not impossible, said Capt. Sandy Young with the Department of Natural Resources.

Young, who wasn’t aware of the sighting, said he recalls that a bear was illegally killed in Fairfield County three years ago. He also remembers one bear hit by a car in York County.

His advice: “Just don’t mess with them.”

“You don’t have to run and hide. They’re not going to come get you. Just leave it alone,” he said.

Pet owners who feed their animals outside may want to refrain from attracting bears that “will eat dog food.”