A Langley man is feeling relieved after his beloved Bentley that was stolen from his home early Thursday morning was found hundreds of kilometres away Saturday.
The Bentley was discovered without the thief near Summerland, more than a day after it was caught on dashcam speeding the wrong way down the Coquihalla near Hope.
That video showed the Bentley speeding towards the Okanagan in the westbound lanes — narrowly missing the driver behind the dashcam in the process. It reportedly led police on chases in Merritt and Kelowna that had to be called off for public safety.
On Saturday morning, the car’s owner, Raymond Campbell, posted a video he received from a woman who came across the car Friday evening on a dirt road about 10 kilometres from the nearest house in Summerland.
“She messaged me and then called me right after and said she found the car,” Campbell said.
The video shows several items inside the vehicle and the trunk, including hard hats, notebooks, backpacks and journals that are labeled with the name “Rhonda.”
Jordyn Birds, who found the car and took the video, said she had heard about the stolen car thanks to social media sharing Campbell’s posts, and was shocked to recognize the car in such a remote area.
WATCH: (Aired March 22) Aaron McArthur reports on the bizarre journey of the stolen Bentley
“It smelled like cigarettes and urine,” Birds said over the phone. “It was just completely filled with stuff. We just couldn’t believe it was there.”
The car also suffered damage to the front panel, and the front passenger-side tire had been replaced with a spare.
Campbell said he’s glad the car was found, but is disappointed the culprit is still at large.
“The car is back, but now the pieces of the puzzle are kind of expanding,” he said. “Whose hard hat is that, whose journals, whose backpack? Why did they take the car and why did they go there?”
WATCH: Original video of the Bentley driving the wrong way on the Coquihalla Highway
Police are now on the lookout for the suspect who stole the car, with forensic teams poring over the Bentley in the hopes of finding clues. Langley RCMP, who were originally investigating the stolen car, couldn’t predict when it would be released.
As Campbell waits to be reunited with what he calls his dream car, he’s wondering how someone would know to take the Bentley when the vehicles on his property are not in plain view from the road.
“Someone made an effort,” he said.
— With files from Jill Bennett
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