Strange activity at her neighbour's home and no car in the driveway caught a Vernon woman's attention Tuesday afternoon.
She grew suspicious when a man and woman with full backpacks walked along 23rd Street carrying an object under a blanket and women's boots. She decided to follow them on foot.
From a safe distance, she watched the couple enter a unit at the Green Valley, a low-rent motel where people lease by the month. She called the RCMP.
Meanwhile, the homeowner returned to find the door forced open and her place ransacked. She was missing a laptop, electronics, jewelry and other valuables.
Officers staked out the motel and waited. When the man and woman walked out, police surprised them and took them into custody. They're well-known to the RCMP, said spokesman Gord Molendyk.
Armed with a warrant, police searched the motel room and found numerous items stolen from the homeowner and other properties in Vernon.
The neighbour is a good example of what RCMP have been saying for years - pay attention to what goes on the neighbourhood and call police if it's suspicious, Molendyk said.
"If you see something wrong, call us. We've been hit with break and enters and thefts . . . We'd rather find out it's a relative (in the house) than you come home hours later and the place (is cleaned out)."