Two days ago, tragedy struck. In a video posted on YouTube (opens in new tab), Ludwig Ahgren, the most subscribed streamer on Twitch, announced that his "treasure" - a Subaru Sambar microvan imported in 1997 - had been stolen. was stolen from outside the warehouse where he is filming his podcast "The Yard" (opens in new tab). The bad weather had shut down the electricity at the site, so those leaving had no choice but to leave the electric gate wide open and wait for the Sambar to be stolen.

As Kotaku (opens in new tab) reported, it didn't take long for the Internet to track down the van: just one day after Ahgren posted the video, a Reddit user named iwantaguineapig (opens in new tab) posted a video of a Sylmar, Los Angeles district, posted a video of a Sambar parked in the area with unreadable license plates. [Argren, now in Texas, was able to arrange for the first person to check the scene in Sylmar, but the van was gone] Argren's assistant, Nick Yingling, and collaborator Anthony Bruno tracked the van to the same location later that day. Unable to get any help from the cops, they decided to take it home themselves, using their own van keys. There was just one problem: they had to get the van back to their house.

As you can see in the video above, Yingling noticed the driver's shadow the moment he opened the door. What they found, however, was a slightly bewildered man, not a habitual criminal.

Realizing that they were out of the way of the Al Capone of the Japanese microvan theft world, Yingling and Bruno began negotiating." Hey bro, we need to get it back," one of the two said, and the figure in the van said, "Get what back?" He replied. The video posted on Twitter was cut off shortly thereafter, but thanks to the latest video posted by Argren yesterday (opens in new tab), we know what happened.

According to Ahlgren, the person sitting in the sambar told Yingling and Bruno that he did not steal the sambar. Instead, he told them that he had received it in exchange for cash from a fellow who owed him money. He then said that his brazenness was honestly commendable and that he would return the car if the two had their own keys and it was clear that they were the owners of the van.

When Ingling decided he would rather call the police, the van man closed the door and drove off in his van. Rather than sell or hide his hot property, however, he drove to a massage parlor, where he was discovered the next day by another Reddit user named suufferPNG (opens in new tab). At this point the police showed up and the van driver (who was in the process of loading the van for departure) fled on foot. Ingling arrived on the scene shortly after, the truck was recovered, and everything was resolved just two days after Argren's original video announcing the theft was posted.

Perhaps there is a moral here. That the collective power of the Internet can have positive consequences? That seems a bit dangerous. How about: don't steal an incredibly recognizable car from a celebrity with millions of fans. And don't drive into the public parking lot outside a massage parlor in broad daylight after being questioned about it." this is a lesson we can all learn.