INUVIK
The power of social media caught up with a couple of apparent thieves March 19.

Scott Kasook, left, a staff member at the Esso station, played good samaritan March 19 when he spotted a stolen snowmobile owned by Angel Simon pull in for a fill-up. Kasook confiscated the machine from the young people who drove it in and contacted Simon and the RCMP. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

A snowmobile owned by Angel Simon was stolen from the parking lot at the apartments owned by the MacKenzie Hotel, locally known as "Frosty's," early in the morning last Thursday.

When Simon noticed the machine was missing at around 7 a.m., she quickly put the word out on Facebook in a post on the popular "Rant and Rave" page.

The post quickly drew a considerable amount of attention, with more than 160 people seeing it, Simon said.

Less than two hours later, to youths drove the machine to the Esso station.

Scott Kasook, who was working that morning, said he had heard about the theft and recognized the machine on sight.

One look was all he needed to realize the thieves had come to one of the only gas stations in town.

He said he came out to pretend to fill the snowmobile, but instead seized it and drove it right to the front door of the station, where he started making phone calls.

At that time, one of the young people in possession of the machine started telling him that he hadn't stolen it, but instead had merely borrowed it from someone else.

Kasook wasn't having any of it, and it wasn't long

before Simon's boyfriend showed up to reclaim it.

He also called the RCMP which led to charges laid against the two young people.

Simon said she was relieved to have the machine back intact.

It hadn't been locked up when she left it at the parking lot of the apartment building, but she had taken the key out.

"It's not that hard to start one of these without the key," Kasook said.

Now, she's already purchased a heavy track lock, she said, and will be taking other steps to make sure it's secure.

Kasook said this is the first time anything like this has happened to him.

He later heard the two youths had been trying unsuccessfully to buy gas privately not long before they came to the station. Simon said the machine, which had a full tank before it was stolen, was nearly empty when it was recovered.

"It looks like they had a good time with it," she said.

She had been told the machine might have been taken to Aklavik and back before it was recovered, but Kasook was a little sceptical about that.

"I doubt they had it long enough to go there," he said.