VICTORIA -- A Victoria man went to great lengths to retrieve his stolen vehicle on Thursday, according to police.
The incident began at roughly 8 a.m. after police received reports of a stolen vehicle in the 900-block of Green Street.
According to the Victoria Police Department, the victim of the vehicle theft told police that he was driving to work when he realized he had forgotten something at home. He then returned to his house and hopped out of his truck while the vehicle was still running.
The man then entered his home and heard his truck being backed out of his driveway.
The victim was able to catch a glimpse of the alleged car thief and alerted two nearby VicPD volunteer reserve constables, who in turn called police with a description of the suspect and stolen vehicle.
After speaking with police, the victim and his partner decided to search the area for the stolen truck. A short time later, the pair spotted the vehicle in the 800-block of Mason Street.
The victim then approached his truck and confronted a man who was standing outside of the truck who was looking through a range of work tools that are normally kept inside of the vehicle.
He then spotted a second man with items that appeared to be taken from the truck and approached the second individual. At that time, the first man that the victim spoke to climbed back into the truck and began to drive away.
Police say the victim then ran back to his truck and “attempted to grab on to it.” He was dragged for several blocks before he was able to climb into the bed of the truck. His partner, meanwhile, was following the scene while driving in a vehicle.
According to VicPD, the suspect “began to drive the truck erratically, potentially in an effort to dislodge the victim from the truck bed.”
During the ordeal, the victim was able to call out to a bystander, prompting multiple people to call 911.
The truck continued to travel throughout the downtown area, and allegedly drove into oncoming traffic and onto a sidewalk.
The suspect eventually fled the truck near the intersection of Bay Street and Blanshard Street, at which point the victim climbed out of the back of the truck and managed to bring the vehicle to a stop.
After stopping the truck, the victim “chased down the suspect” and managed to hold him down, with the help of another bystander, until police arrived.
Throughout the entire incident, no injuries were reported.
Police are now asking for anyone with video footage of the area to come forward.
Anyone with information on the incident, or who may have footage, is asked to contact VicPD at 250-995-7654.
