Man Allegedly Stole an RV — and When Owner Couldn't Start Vehicle Again, He Was Sprung from Jail to Help

Olive Teague described the bizarre experience in a TikTok video

For 158 days, Olive Teague's RV, which doubled as her home, was missing.

Half of Teague's personal items and her work gear was stolen with it, according to a GoFundMe launched after the theft. But after the vehicle was found months later, her story went viral for an unexpected reason.

According to a TikTok shared by Teague, the man accused of stealing her vehicle is also the one who taught her and a friend how to start it.

"The police recovered my stolen RV but we couldn't figure out how to start it with the ignition punched, so the officer got the man who stole my RV from county jail to teach my friend and me how to start it," Teague wrote on the video.

The video shows the suspect — dressed in an orange jumpsuit — in the passenger seat while Teague's friend, who is not named, is in the driver's seat. Both are shown leaning over, looking at the ignition while the suspect explains how to start the vehicle and turn it off. Once it turns off, the suspect proclaims: "Okay, bingo!"

"My friend and the responding officer tried for a good 15 minutes to jump the vehicle while I was cleaning out the rear. Eventually, I overheard the officer say 'You know what? I don't want us to do more damage to the ignition by messing with it. I know a guy back at the station who definitely knows how to do this.' And so he left,'" Teague recounted in a GoFundMe update.

Teague says she initially thought another officer would come help. But no.

"The responding officer went to the county jail and got the literal man who they booked for [allegedly] selling my rig and took him on a little field trip out to teach us how to start my RV," she wrote.

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Teague added that she thought this represented a "potentially dangerous" situation with the man "waving a screwdriver inches from my friend's face," but she said he was also "so supportive about the teaching process??????"

She said she filmed the moment for posterity, but also "in case we needed the evidence."

According to the GoFundMe update, squatters lived in the vehicle during the months it was missing.

"There was significant damage to the body of the vehicle, and all of my belongings were gone on arrival," Teague wrote on the fundraiser. The roof AC unit and solar panels were also missing and the vehicle was left in disarray.

"During the cleaning process we discovered drugs, guns, stolen jewelry, bike parts, hunting weapons, a raccoon trap, and so many more unmentionables," Teague wrote on GoFundMe. "There is fire damage to the inside of the RV. The walls, my brand new mattress, and the carpets have deep burn marks on them. About an hour and a half into the clearing project, I found an entire CAT. She was truly the sweetest creature."

Teague — who is the founder of The Seattle Mermaid School — is now raising money for at least a dozen repairs on the RV and to replace her stolen work items. PEOPLE reached out to Teague for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

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