OKEECHOBEE — After leaving a car running with the doors unlocked, a mechanic returned to find the vehicle gone.

On April 13 at approximately 4 p.m., Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Camino was dispatched to a home on Northwest 86th Court in reference to a stolen vehicle report.

The owner of the 2013 silver Kia Sportage told him her car had been stolen about an hour earlier. She said she did not know who took it but saw a man walking up and down the road around the time the car was taken. She explained she had a mechanic working on her vehicle in her backyard, and after he finished, he drove the car across the street to a neighbor’s home to return some tools. While he was inside the house, someone took her car.

The mechanic told Camino he left the car running and the doors unlocked. He said he was in the house for a few minutes, and when he came out, he saw the car heading down Northwest 80th Avenue. The mechanic’s dog was in the backseat of the car when it was taken.

Surveillance video from a neighboring home helped identify a suspect as 39-year-old Mark Snedley, and a BOLO was placed on the vehicle. Snedley was located at the Seminole Casino at approximately 9:30 p.m., and Snedley was taken into custody. He was charged with grand theft auto and with petit theft, because the dog was in the car when it was stolen.

Snedley’s bond was set at $10,000.