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A woman formerly staying at a women’s sobriety home in California allegedly took a stolen van and engaged in a hours-long police chase ending with her crossing the international boundary into the nation of Mexico on the start of the week.

Auto Theft Reported from Recovery Residence

According to a police statement, a second woman, the owner of the vehicle, forty-five years old, reported that her 2004 gray Toyota Sienna was missing, along with her vehicle key. The owner, who manages two women’s sober living homes, identified the suspect as one of the residents at a recovery facility in Thousand Oaks, located approximately an hour’s drive of LA.

“The keys were stolen out of my manager’s handbag. I happened to pull up right when it was occurring,” she said, noting that the minivan is used for the sobriety home’s tasks.

Dramatic Chase Develops Across Multiple Counties

Authorities located the van about 12 miles north in a nearby city, where they tried to pull the vehicle over, but the suspect refused to stop and accelerated rapidly. She reached speeds of about 145km/h on the 118 freeway until the chase proceeded into Los Angeles county. At that juncture, local sheriff’s deputies transferred the pursuit to the CHP once Wilson merged onto the 405 freeway traveling southbound.

“This one is particularly unusual in the sense of the road situation allowing drivers to continue to remain on the highway and extend this pursuit,” said a spokesperson from the local law enforcement agency.

Wilson reportedly avoided all the tire-deflation devices deployed on the roadway by police, as documented in aerial videos.

International Getaway and Aftermath

The pursuit finally arrived at the US-Mexico border by early afternoon, leading to the CHP to end its pursuit due to legal limitations.

Walters indicated on the following day that the minivan was situated in the Mexican city of Tijuana and that she was working with the authorities to recover the vehicle.

“At the end of the day, I’m not concerned with the vehicle,” she said. “I’m relieved aware she was not injured. The minivan is easily substituted.”

Insight from the Facility Operator

Walters, who has operated Diana’s House Sober Living since October 2024, acknowledges that the path to recovery from addiction and trauma is often non-linear.

“This is a mental health and addiction emergency,” she said. “There is a need for more support. It is essential to provide more resources for those that are struggling.”

“Recovery can be messy,” she added.