car thief camo valet

Camo dude nabs car from a fancy Toronto hotel valet and it's a miracle anyone even saw

Toronto Police are looking for a particularly cunning camouflaged criminal, who allegedly dressed for the part in a mid-November auto heist that saw a luxury car nabbed from under the noses of valet parking staff at a bougie downtown hotel.

The sneaky auto theft occurred on Nov. 13, 2021, around 3:30 p.m in the Front Street West and York Street area. Officers responded to a report that a woman had dropped off a 2020 Audi Q5 luxury SUV with valets in front of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, when an unknown man stole the keys from the car while valets were distracted, later returning to steal the vehicle itself.

Cops have shared a photo of this blended-in bandit, seeking assistance from the public in identifying the man. And (please note that it'll be pure sarcasm from this point on) the snapshot makes it easy to see why the accused culprit got away so cleanly.

Police say the suspect is described as "having a thin build, average height, with short brown hair, a moustache and goatee. He was wearing a black and grey camouflage 'Champion' sweatsuit, and white sneakers."

But there's a bit of a problem with their description of the suspect, whose choice in attire made himself basically invisible to all but the most trained observers.

A more appropriate description would probably read like, "police seeking disembodied head, hands, and feet with no discernable torso or limbs," because that's clearly all that's visible in the police handout photo. Anyone who claims to see a black and grey sweatshirt should book an optometrist appointment immediately.

Those who do somehow recognize this ride-stealing spectre should reach out to police, though with such keen spotting skills, they might also want to consider applying to the force or maybe even a higher level of law enforcement or intelligence service.

In all seriousness, wearing full camo to the porte-cochère of one of Canada's most prestigious hotels is more likely to get you noticed than providing any benefit to would-be thieves.

But it's always fun to dunk on this trashy fashion trend, especially when people actually attempt to use it to further their sneaky plans.

In this case, wearing a mask may have done the suspect some good, his most distinguishing features the only thing he made zero effort to hide despite clearly being indoors in the handout photo.

Lead photo by

Toronto Police Service


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