The Mathers' trailer and Mazda, photographed where they came to a rest after ramming into each other during the early hours of Oct. 16.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

A Summerland man was rudely awakened last weekend by a thief who stole the truck attached to the camper trailer he was sleeping in.

Jason Mathers was brought along for the first leg of the theft before the trailer broke loose. The thief unhitched the trailer from the truck, but not two pieces of metal that remained latched together until the truck reached the end of the driveway. It wasn’t until the trailer was rammed into the family’s Mazda 3 before it detached from the truck – and the trailer wasn’t able to maneuver past the Mazda because its slide out was extended.

Jason was sleeping in the trailer in order to breathe properly through his CPAP machine because it was in the midst of a six-hour long planned power outage in Summerland on Oct. 15-16.

The theft happened around 5:25 a.m., just over an hour after the power was restored. The family has security cameras which were back online, but the thief approached their truck from an angle that couldn’t be detected.

The front end of the Mazda's driver's side was in the way of the trailer's slide for the thief who stole a pickup truck in Summerland.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

Jason’s wife, Diane Mathers, said the theft happened so quickly he wasn’t able to see if there was one or multiple thieves involved, adding that police didn’t tell them whether or not they have any leads on who stole their black and orange Ford F-250.

Diane isn’t exactly sure how the truck was stolen but said neither set of keys were missing. She figures the culprit broke into the truck quietly, as their dogs were barking at quite a few passersby that night, but stayed quiet during the heist.

Since the morning of Oct. 16, the family of four has been using just one vehicle as they wait for the insurance company to send adjusters to inspect the damage.

They were considering having the entire family camp-out in the trailer that night because of the power outage, but Diane is glad that idea did not pan out.

“It was probably pretty shocking to be in there when it was happening,” she said.

The Mathers' travel trailer struck their Mazda several times while a thief clumsily escaped with their Ford F-250.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

A few hours earlier, while the power was still out, Summerland RCMP responded to another call of somebody trying to steal a trailer. That trailer was recovered and one person is in custody, according to Alma Edwards with B.C. RCMP communications.

Mailboxes in Summerland were also broken into the same night.

READ MORE: Thieves exchange one stolen pickup for another in Summerland

The Mathers suspect there may be a correlation between the power outage and the thefts.

Another planned power outage is happening this Friday night, Oct. 22-23 during the same period from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The District of Summerland is planning another 6-hour power outage again this Friday, Oct. 22, beginning at 10 p.m.

(MARSHALL JONES - MANAGING EDITOR / iNFOnews.ca)

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