Stolen SUV recovered after owner spots It driving by

UPDATE: 7:58 p.m.

A Kelowna woman has her SUV back after a surprising encounter led her straight to it on Saturday afternoon.

Nicole McWilliams was out searching for her stolen vehicle around 3:30 p.m. along Guisachan Drive when, by chance, she saw it — with the suspect behind the wheel.

“We were driving out looking for it and he drove right past me,” McWilliams said. “I followed him and he went into a grass ditch and he left my car on Nelson Place.”

Fortunately, the SUV was not damaged, though McWilliams said the interior had been rummaged through.

“[Police] haven't told me if they caught him. We were so lucky. It was a pure fluke,” she added. “Looks like he took it for a joy ride.”

Castanet has reached out to the Kelowna RCMP for comment and confirmation on whether a suspect has been arrested.

ORIGINAL: 12 p.m.

A Kelowna woman woke to find her SUV gone from her driveway early Saturday morning.

Nicole McWilliams went to bed Friday night with her white 2016 Acura RDX parked in her driveway at 1102 Cameron Drive, a housing complex off Gordon Drive.

But the vehicle was gone when she woke up Saturday morning.

She checked her front-door camera and a saw a person entering her vehicle and driving off just after 2 a.m.

“It was a bit of a shock this morning,” McWilliams said.

In the surveillance video, it appears the thief had little trouble taking off with the SUV.

McWilliams says that while she thought her keys were in her purse, she now realizes that her keys must have fallen out inside the vehicle, leaving the thieves with an easy target.

She says they've had issues in her complex before with people coming through and trying vehicles' door handles.

McWilliams has reported the theft to police. While her video doesn't capture much of the thief, she's hoping someone may recognize the blue truck that appears to have been involved.

The stolen white Acura RDX has a "NMCREALESTATE.ca" sticker on the back tailgate window.