Staff from Mission Thrift Store in Okotoks were relieved on Tuesday afternoon, when a van that was stolen just two days prior was recovered.

The E350 Cube van is used by Mission Thrift's staff to pick up furniture and other larger donations from Foothills residents and had just received new decals featuring the store's logos and information in late 2020.

Soon after the truck was discovered to have been stolen on Monday morning, police were notified.

The store's staff didn't hold out much hope of recovery, as police told them thefts such as this often result in vehicles being transported to remote locations, stripped of any identifying decals and other markings, and quickly relocated.

A post was sent out on the store's Facebook page notifying residents of the theft, which soon led to an unexpected development.

General Manager of Mission Thrift, Colin Rumary, says a resident in the Crystal Ridge area spotted the truck right outside her house.

"The lady phoned the police because she looked on Facebook and seen the picture of the truck and that fact it'd been stolen, and she looked outside and lo and behold. There was our truck."

An employee recovered the vehicle soon after. According to RUmary, it was in great condition, with the exception of some broken locks and a dead battery.

He says the theft came as a surprise given the age of the vehicle, and its contents (or lack thereof.)

"The truck is 15 years old, it doesn't really have much value, I would think. It was empty except for some moving rugs, and we had a dolly in there for moving things around. That's all that was in it."

It's now been fitted with a GPS tracker as a security measure.

Rumary says it was an immeasurable relief, considering he'd been contacting the insurance company and checking prices for a new van just hours earlier.

"It's a huge weight off my shoulders, we have a large number of problems to worry about at this time without having that added to it."

He says the van ended up just two minutes away from the store.

"It's gotta be the shortest joy-ride on record, I would think!"

 

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