Rude awakening: Truck stolen while owner sleeps in back

The owner of a pickup got a rude awakening when the truck he was sleeping in was stolen in Olympia early Thursday.

Olympia police said they responded to a call from the victim at 1:14 a.m., who said he was sleeping in the covered bed of his truck at the Capitol Medical Center when his Toyota was stolen.

Police said the victim was able to periodically update dispatch with his location despite an intermittent cellular connection. Dispatch was using GPS from his cellular signal to help find the victim when he was no longer able to recognize his surroundings, police said.

Recordings  from 911 show the man, who had been living in his truck, was frantic as he tried to the the operator know where he was.  He was also frantic about his cat that had been in cab at the time his truck was stolen and was worried that his cat have been let out.    (Listen to  the recordings at the bottom of this story).

Multiple police agencies sent officers to the area as the driver headed northbound on Highway 101.   He later stopped on Fagergren Road in Mason County, where he got out of the truck and approached the back of the pickup with a knife.

The victim got out of the back of the truck and ran to a nearby home for help.

The driver then drove off  in the victim’s truck.

The stolen vehicle is a silver 1989 Toyota pickup with a brown canopy with Washington plate B59457N.  Neither the pickup nor the man who stole it have been found.  The victim is still looking for his cat.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Olympia Police Department at 360-704-2740.

Warning: This second recording contains profanity: