CALGARY -- A Calgary man learned the hard way that enforcing the law sometimes finishes second to processing the paperwork, and now he finds himself out one perfectly good van.
Brian Walters has a good picture of the man he says stole his 2010 white Ford Transit Connect — a photo he believes the thief shot himself using Walters' stolen iPhone.
Despite possessing that key piece of evidence, Walters' van remains missing, with the thief still at large despite leaving a trail Walters was able to track — until his stolen iPhone ran out of juice.
It all started Monday night, as Walters said he watched in disbelief as his van drove away without him in it. Just moments before, he’d stepped out to unload a pressure washer to start cleaning a car wash outside a gas station on Midlake Boulevard S.E. in Calgary.
The second Walters got the pressure washer out of the back of the van, he slammed the rear doors shut, only to have a thief, who'd snuck into the driver's side, put the van in gear and drive away in it.
To add to the feeling he was starring in his own heist film, Walters discovered that a pair of Calgary police officers were standing inside the same gas station.
Walters raced over to let them know what just happened moments earlier, anticipating a chase scene and the recovery of his vehicle and phone, which he'd left inside the van.
“I said, ‘Hey my van just got stolen," he said. "It rolled right past you guys!“
The officers didn't move.
“They had to take a police report before they could pursue anything, apparently," he said.
**The Calgary Police Service claims Walters was not with his van at the time of the theft and it was an employee of Walters' who reported the incident. CPS officials say there were no CPS members at the gas station at the time and police arrived after the theft was reported**
The GPS on the phone
Realizing his phone was in the van, Walters spotted an opportunity to track the stolen vehicle on its getaway ride.
With the help of a friend, who came to the gas station and picked him up, they tracked the thief as he headed north out of the city up Deerfoot Trail.
That's when Walters once again attempted to enlist the assistance of a law enforcement agency.
“We watched the guy as he goes through Airdrie," he said. "So I called the Airdrie RCMP."
Van owner Brian Walters. (Submitted)
That's where things took another twist.
"They said there was nothing they could do unless I had an exact GPS location (of the van),” said Walters.
The problem was a vehicle in motion can't be at an exact GPS location because it's moving.
“I said, 'He's on the move, so that is never going to happen.'"
Red Deer
Left to his own devices, Walters and his friend continued monitoring the scofflaw’s joyride as he continued north, stopping in Red Deer apparently for a snack and a coffee.
“He stopped at McDonalds," Walters said. "I called Red Deer police and they said they needed an exact GPS location — and I said ‘he’s at McDonalds at Gasoline Alley," referencing the famous pit stop off Highway 2.
Somehow, his phone was even able to identify which franchise the thief visited.
"It’s (the van parked) between McDonalds and Popeye’s Chicken," Walters recalled. “And then he goes to Starbucks — he’s hopping around locations, then he leaves Red Deer and he’s heading toward Edmonton."
Walters lost track of his iPhone and the van somewhere between Leduc and Edmonton. But before that happened, someone in the van picked up the phone and inadvertently rolled off one and a half seconds of timelapse video.
A freeze frame of the video clearly shows the man Walters believes stole his vehicle.
And apparently is still driving around in it.
“I know my van is likely gone forever," Walters said, "But I hope they recognize him and something happens.
"Because I tried everything the best I could, with what I had, you know, my iPhone, but nothing happened."
Correction:
The original version of this story included Brian Walters' recount of the theft. Walters indicated CPS members were at the location at the time of the theft but elected not to pursue the stolen van.
CPS officials confirm to CTV News that it was an employee of Walters — not Walters himself — who was with the van prior to the theft and that Walters was not at the scene. Police say the officers did not arrive at the gas station until after the theft was reported.
