To catch a thief: Man recovers stolen car

The people who stole Brandon Nielsen's sister's car picked the wrong victim. Nielsen went to great lengths last week to help his little sister recover her car - and he came away with a good story to tell.

Nielsen, 25, of Evergreen, was enjoying help with his children this summer from his sister Brianna. Widowed this year, Nielsen appreciated the extra hands.

On Thursday, though, his sister was preparing to return to school at Arizona State University. Her Honda Civic was parked in Nielsen's driveway, ready for the trip Sunday.

Then someone stole it.

"We did not notice the car was gone until about 7:30 Friday morning," Nielsen said. They reported the theft to Kalispell police and the Sheriff's Office, which put out a notice to officers about Brianna's stolen car.

"She was pretty frantic," Nielsen said. "She didn't have a way to get home."

On Saturday evening, Nielsen and Brianna were driving in a car borrowed from one of her friends.

"People drove right by us in her car and I was like, 'That's your car!'" he said.

They wound up stopped behind the Honda, where they verified the license plate was hers. They called police from a cellular phone when they were on North Main Street.

"We were right behind the people who stole her car and decided, 'We'll follow them,'" Nielsen said.

Both cars turned right onto West Idaho Street, where the people in Brianna's car noticed they were being followed, Nielsen said.

"They were speeding up, weaving in and out of traffic, driving in the wrong lane, driving in the turn lane," Nielsen said. "They're just erratic, pushing people off the road. We're just flying," he said.

The stolen Honda turned north onto Meridian Road.

"They're just driving crazy," Nielsen said. "They pushed some people off into the ditch."

Deciding it was too reckless to follow at that speed, Nielsen lost the Honda at the traffic light on U.S. 93.

They drove around for about 20 minutes, he said, and then went to his house, Nielsen said.

"I'm pretty irritated," he said. He was frustrated that police weren't able to help and frustrated that the car thieves got away.

Then he remembered how a neighbor who is a retired policeman told him that people often dumped stolen property at the Old Steel Bridge at the Flathead River.

"I just couldn't sit at home," Nielsen said. He decided to go check out the area. He drove around the park on the west side of the river. He went over the bridge to the fishing access - where the most unlikely thing happened.

"Just as I'm pulling out of the fishing access, they pull in," Nielsen said.

"My jaw just dropped. I couldn't believe it," he said.

"I called the police immediately," he said. "They told me stay there."

He said he watched the occupants of the car - two girls and two men - "messing around outside of the car … Several minutes go by. It felt like forever."

When the group started packing things up as if getting ready to leave, Nielsen concluded that he couldn't wait for a sheriff's deputy to help him.

"I decided, well, this is it," he said.

He drove behind his sister's parked car and blocked it in. He got out and told the foursome they weren't going anywhere. There was a brief struggle, he said, and then the teenagers calmed down and claimed they bought the car the day before and didn't know anything about it being stolen.

The two men picked up their backpacks as if they were leaving, Nielsen said. He pulled them back toward the car and another struggle broke out between him and one of the men. The man slipped out of his backpack and shirt as Nielsen grabbed them; the man ran away.

Nielsen corralled the other three and kept them where they stood.

"There's still no police," he said, so he passed the time with the youths, talking about anything that would occupy them. He called 911 again.

When a deputy arrived, the other three teenagers blamed the one who ran away with the theft. They gave the officer the man's name and address, and he was later arrested.

Nielsen was able to return the Honda, a little worse for wear, to Brianna. Her purse and its contents were missing from the vehicle, but she is grateful she has her car back, the people who are accused of taking it will be held accountable, and no one got hurt.

"We had a lot of people praying that we would find it," Nielsen said of the car. He's as surprised as anyone that he's the guy who found it.

"You don't expect to ever being faced with a situation like that," he said. But he's a little critical of police for not helping find the car.

"If I was able to do it, how come police weren't able to do it?" he asked.

Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner said he understands Nielsen's frustration.

"If it was me, I'd like to sometime [during the chase through town] see a police car," Garner said. His officers were trying to connect with the chase, but just weren't able to get from U.S. 93 to Meridian Road in time, he said.

Mostly, though, Nielsen is happy he could help his sister.

"Any big brother would have done it," he said.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com.