A BIZARRE case involving a stolen car at Stirling has been cracked.

The case started when an Upper Sturt man left his car in the rear car park of the shopping complex at the corner of Pine St and Old Mt Barker Rd in Stirling while he went for a walk early on Sunday, December 18, The Advertiser reported.



When he returned 15 minutes later, the car was nowhere to be found and he reported it stolen to police.

The stolen car was unaccounted for until Wednesday, January 4, when the new owners of a nearby house returned home.

They reported to police that while they were away, someone had broken into their garage.

"Although the roller door was closed, it had been damaged slightly and had been pushed out of its tracks," a police spokesman said.

"Inside the garage they discovered the stolen car."

Investigations revealed that the man originally left the car without placing its automatic transmission into park.

"After he walked away, the car rolled through the car-park, across the road, down the driveway and forced itself under the roller door, parking perfectly inside the garage where it remained safely undercover for 17 days," the spokesman said.

The case of both the stolen car and the garage break-in have now been closed.