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Woman’s stolen car returned with gas money, apology note

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PORTLAND, Ore. – An Oregon woman is sharing the crazy story about how her stolen car was returned.

Erin Hatzi woke up one morning to find her red Subaru missing.

Hatzi immediately checked her security cameras, which showed a woman getting into the vehicle and driving away.

“We were really confused because it didn’t seem like the normal actions of a car thief,” Hatzi told KGW. “You wouldn’t think they’d sit there in idle in the owner’s driveway for two or three minutes.”

The woman told KGW that she filed a police report and waited for answers.

Wednesday afternoon, Hatzi’s husband was taking out the trash when he saw a police officer had a woman stopped right outside of the couple’s home.

The woman had just gotten out of the red Subaru and had left some cash and a note inside the car, according to KGW.

Hatzi posted the stranger’s note on Facebook, which described the crazy way the car was stolen in the first place.

“Hello, So sorry I stole your car. I sent my friend with my key to pick up my red Subaru at 7802 SE Woodstock and she came back with your car. I did not see the car until this morning and I said, ‘that is not my car.’ There is some cash for gas and I more than apologize for the shock and upset this must have caused you. If you need to speak further, with me, I am ******* and my number is ………. So so sorry for this mistake.”

Police reportedly confirmed to Hatzi that older model Subaru keys sometimes work in different cars.

It turns out, the right Subaru was a block away the whole time, KGW reports.

“It’s insane,” Hatzi said. “It’s like a bad sitcom that nobody would ever buy the story because it’s stupid and it makes no sense. But it happened.”