Cops thought they were looking for a car thief. Turns out, it was just somebody a little absent-minded. It seems that a shopper in Halifax, Nova Scotia, returned to the parking lot, hopped in the wrong car, and drove away, according to a police statement. Both cars were white Hyundai Santa Fes, and they were parked next to other, reports the Toronto Star. The errant driver even gassed up the vehicle before realizing his mistake.
It's not clear how he was able to start the car; it wasn't left running, but his key fob somehow worked, per the Daily Hive, which calls him the "most Canadian car thief ever." He finally returned to the scene of the not-really crime, and all was cleared up. The woman whose car he took even reimbursed him for the gas. “Happy ending for everyone,” says a police spokesman. (Two young teens raised the ante on joy-riding by stealing a plane.)