The League to Save Lake Tahoe has been leading litter clean-up efforts for the area's beaches and water for years.

Volunteers can easily pick up large pieces of trash, but smaller pieces of plastic can eventually still find their way into the water after sinking into the sand.

That's a problem the league is looking to solve with help from a new robot.

It's called "BEBOT."

It's fully electric, solar-powered and remote-controlled by someone walking behind it.

BEBOT's job? Comb through the top few inches of sand to sift out otherwise unseen litter.

“This robot is really getting the plastics and the litter just out of our view that could end up in our lake and really cause some damage," said Jesse Patterson, Chief Strategy Officer for the League, which operates under the slogan "Keep Tahoe Blue."

Patterson said the robot has been compared to a giant Roomba or a Zamboni. But the rover-like machine is far smaller than that.

"It's very compact, no emissions, very light pressure on the ground so it's not going to disturb things like our native Tahoe Yellow Cress," Patterson said.

A company called Eco Clean Solutions, which is based in France, built BEBOT along with several other robots like it.

BEBOT made its U.S. debut in Florida. This week's test event at Lake Tahoe was the first run for the robot on the West Coast.

In ideal conditions, the robot can crawl along at 3,000 meters (just under 2 miles) per hour. As it moves along, it sweeps and sifts the top 1 to 4 inches of sand, removing pieces of trash.

"We really see the robot as the last line of defense for the lake for keeping small pollution and litter, plastics in particular from getting in the water in the first place," Patterson said.

After that, volunteers sort the trash and log what they've found.

BEBOT is in a pilot phase this year while the League determines the most effective way to utilize it.

Patterson said that Keep Tahoe Blue will still organize regular clean-up events. He also urges all visitors to prioritize being responsible stewards of the environment.

"Leave it better than you found it," Patterson said. "Come enjoy this place, but pack it in, pack it out. It sounds silly and simple but it really matters here in Tahoe."

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (Video above: WCCO via CNN) —

A pitbull survived being thrown from a moving car during a high-speed wrong-way chase in Minnesota and now, as he recovers, he's being called a walking miracle.

Sgt. Dan Young of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department told WCCO the chase involved multiple car-jackings and weapons.

Eventually, deputies were pursuing a stolen truck that was speeding the wrong way down an interstate.

That's when they noticed "a small, white dog had been thrown from the vehicle being pursued," Young said.

Deputies went back and searched for the puppy after the chase ended with a few arrests. However, the dog was nowhere to be found as evening temperatures dipped well below zero.

Using drones, the deputies tried the next day again and found the pitbull wagging his tail in a snow bank.

"He was happy-go-lucky. We even got him up in the van and he was licking us. Very, very happy. We gave him a piece of pizza," Young said.

Deputies named the dog Tahoe after the Chevrolet Tahoes they drive. Tahoe had a broken leg and some lacerations from the incident, but he's now recovering at the home of a county employee and a fundraiser created for his vet bills has collected more than $20,000.

Because Tahoe was found without a collar, tags or a chip, officers are trying to find his owner or a new home. Tahoe is believed to be about one year old.

"We'll do our best to get him to a nice, loving family where he can live out the rest of his days in luxury. Because he's earned it. It's a feel-good happy ending in a world where we don't get those a lot," Young said.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. —

A 500-pound black bear wreaking havoc in the Tahoe Keys community in California was spotted Friday morning and broke into another home, South Lake Tahoe police said.

The bear now has an unofficial name: "Hank the Tank." Named appropriately by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, Hank added another crime to his rap sheet.

The bear broke into a secured home last week in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood, South Lake Tahoe Police said.

Officers banged on the exterior of the home until Hank escaped out the back door. Officers remained in the area to ensure the bear ran off at a safe distance from the home without damaging any other properties nearby, police said.

South Lake Tahoe police said Hank did not break into a garage where trash was kept, but rather he broke into a secured home through a small window.

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When needed, officers are trained to use deterrents such as loud sirens, dry-firing their tasers and beanbag rounds, police said.

This latest break-in comes as California Department of Wildlife officials, along with South Lake Tahoe police have been dealing with Hank for quite some time. Just in the past two months, Hank has racked up over 150 service calls for break-ins and other issues related to reported sightings, officials said.

Officials say euthanasia is a last resort taken by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, however Hank's past behavior and dependence on human food make relocating the bear very difficult.

As of Friday, no viable relocation site for this bear has been found. While unlikely, the Department of Fish and Wildlife are exploring other options.