Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned waxed a little fairy taleish Wednesday as he described how police nabbed a man suspected of car theft early in the morning.

The 42-year-old man, noticed at 3:35 a.m. by a homeowner on 1800-block Norfolk Court who saw him eyeing his daughter’s car, was picked up by an officer in the area.

Learned said the suspect — known to police in the past for several property offences — was found with gloves, a mask and several sets of keys.

One of those keys was for a Honda car. An officer noticed a black 2000 Accord near the scene, and a check on the licence plates showed it was reported stolen.

“Like Cinderella’s glass slipper, the key found in the suspect’s possession fit perfectly in the door of the stolen Honda,” Learned said.

But this story had no happy ending for the suspect, a Kamloops man who was slated to appear in provincial court later in the day to face charges of theft and possession of stolen property.

In fact, Learned said the man had previously had a happy ending, cleaning up and doing well for some time.

“Unfortunately, he’s fallen on hard times,” he said.

The stolen Honda was impounded pending examination by a forensic identification specialist from the Kamloops RCMP.