The owner of the vehicle attempts to grab control as the car spins. (Submitted/Video Screenshot)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Car theft

Car theft at food bank leads to compassion for would-be thief

Feb 20, 2025 | 8:00 AM

Her hands were so cold, they were purple.

The woman behind the attempt to steal a car behind the Battlefords District Food and Resources Centre earlier Wednesday was trying to make her way back to a reserve when she saw a food bank volunteer boost his car.

“He walked as she was walking by, and she just beelined it right to the vehicle,” said Executive Director Erin Katerynych, noting that people need to be mindful.

“On cold days, people are looking for warm spots.”

The incident, which took place around 12:45, was captured on a security camera that battlefordsNOW obtained, and shows a woman opening the door to a grey sedan parked beside the food bank truck and reversing before two men race into frame and work to stop the theft by jumping on either side of the vehicle.

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According to a witness, who has asked for anonymity due to his line of work that battlefordsNOW will call “Jack,” the woman, in a rush to get away, spun the car to dislodge the owner who had gotten a hold of the driver’s door and went on the doughnut ride.

“I tried opening the back door, I was the one who pulled her out of the car and put her on the ground,’ he said.

“She was just doing car shopping and decided that she found an opportunity to get herself out to the reservation – is her words verbatim – and she was just going to ditch the car once she got there.”

It was when Jack put her in a position that was safe for both the woman and the men, that he took notice of her hands. He called on another volunteer who was observing the situation to bring out gloves.

“Once I was getting too cold to be out there, ’cause I was out without gloves or a jacket or a hat, I stood her up and I said, ‘We’re going inside’ ‘cause I knew that if I was cold, she was already frozen,” he said.

“Now matter what she was doing, stealing a car, doesn’t matter, she still needs to survive.”

Five minutes after they went inside, the police arrived to take her into custody.

According to Katerynych, they had a car theft in the past, but this was the first time they caught it in the act.

“This car theft was definitely more scary than the other one,” she said.

Once they got her inside, the executive director and the volunteers jumped into action to take care of the would-be car thief.

“I felt bad for her to be honest, she was just bawling her eyes out saying how cold she was,” she said.

Jack explained that has been involved with similar scenarios and it wasn’t necessarily his first experience with this, though it was an unfortunate choice.

“Rightly so that someone would want to do whatever they can to try and basically save their life, which would be to get somewhere warm,” he said.

“I could tell that she was cold, and she openly admitted she did what she did because of the fact that she was cold and needed to get to somewhere where it was safe and she would be warm.”

Meanwhile, if there are people who are in need of warmth and the door is open, Katerynych said they’re welcome.

“You can come in the front and warm up.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: juleslovett.bsky.social