DPS officers responded to a call from a resident on County Road 225 near the Brownwood Country Club regarding a car discovered in a group of trees near the roadway. Investigation on the scene revealed the car was one reported stolen over the weekend. By coincidence, the owner of the stolen car was traveling nearby and saw two State Trooper vehicles.

The car’s owner, John Pena, was looking to find the area where the car had reportedly been involved in a collision with a fence nearby early Saturday morning.

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“We were just driving by and saw the troopers and my mom said she thought it was probably my car,” said Pena as Brownwood Detectives collected evidence from the recovered vehicle.

Pena was visiting with a friend around 9 p.m. on Saturday evening. He parked his car, a red Toyota Corolla, in the parking lot behind the Coggin Avenue Baptist Church. When he left his friend’s home around 11 p.m. he discovered the car had been stolen. “It’s indescribable. The feeling when you go to your car and it’s just gone,” Pena said.

Pena filed a report with the Brownwood Police Department and was notified a few hours later when police discovered an accident involving his car near the country club. The bumper of the vehicle was discovered at the scene, prompting police to notify the owner of the development in the investigation.

The car was later discovered on Monday hidden in a group of trees some distance away from the wrecked fence. “That car was my livelihood,” Pena, who works at Dominos, as assistant manager and also handling deliveries. Pena had purchased the car only two months ago from Bruner Toyota in Early. At the time of the theft, the car was unlocked.

“I never leave my car unlocked,” Pena stated. “This was the one time.”

A spare key from the dealership was in the center console along with approximately $150 worth of spare change. The money was taken from the vehicle. Detectives collected evidence including tire tracks and footprints found in the mud near the car.