Orono police are investigating an incident from early Thursday morning during which someone reportedly stole a car and drove it briefly before crashing into a tree and then another parked car.

The suspect then fled on foot, Orono police Officer Chris Watson said later Thursday.

The vehicle’s owner called police around 1:30 a.m. after he left Margarita’s restaurant and noticed his car was not parked out front where he left it.

Police located the car on Water Street, not far from the restaurant. Watson said it had been involved in an accident, first hitting a small tree, then a parked car. The impact from the crash also pushed the parked car into a house, causing minor damage, Watson said.

Both cars involved had significant damage, the officer said. The keys were left in the stolen car, but as of late Thursday evening there were no suspects.

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Bangor police helped track a suspected shoplifter who reportedly fled from a Wal-Mart security officer and was found hiding inside a nearby restaurant.

Nicole Oelfke, 26, reportedly tried to take an alarm clock and some rolls of wallpaper without paying for them. The security officer caught her, according to a police report, but she took off on foot after the officer escorted her back inside.

With help from Bangor police Officer Randall Parsons, the security guard caught Oelfke inside the lobby of Olive Garden. When she saw the officers, she began crying, according to the report, and told police she had just come from the methadone clinic. Oelfke was issued a summons for theft.

– Compiled by BDN reporter Eric Russell