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A woman formerly staying at a female recovery facility in California allegedly stole a minivan and led a hours-long police chase ending with her crossing the international boundary into Mexico on Monday.

Auto Theft Reported from Recovery Residence

As stated in a law enforcement announcement, a second woman, the owner of the vehicle, forty-five years old, reported that her gray minivan from 2004 was missing, along with her vehicle key. The owner, who operates two women’s sober living homes, named the alleged thief as Alyssa Wilson at a recovery facility in Thousand Oaks, located approximately 60 minutes north-west of LA.

“The keys were taken from my house manager’s purse. I happened to pull up just as it was happening,” she said, adding that the minivan is designated for the facility’s daily operations.

Dramatic Chase Develops Across Several Regions

Officials tracked the van about 12 miles to the north in a nearby city, where they tried to initiate a traffic stop, but Wilson did not comply and sped away. She attained speeds of about 145km/h on the 118 freeway until the chase continued into Los Angeles county. At that juncture, Ventura county authorities transferred the operation to the CHP once the driver entered the 405 freeway heading south.

“This incident is particularly unusual in the sense of the traffic conditions enabling individuals to continue to remain on the freeway and extend this chase,” said a spokesperson from the local law enforcement agency.

Wilson allegedly dodged all the tire-deflation devices deployed on the roadway by police, as seen in footage from above.

Cross-Border Escape and Aftermath

The pursuit finally arrived at the international border by early afternoon, leading to the highway patrol to terminate the chase due to jurisdictional constraints.

Walters indicated on the following day that the minivan was located in Tijuana, Mexico and that she was working with the CHP to retrieve it.

“At the end of the day, I’m not concerned with the vehicle,” Walters remarked. “I’m more at ease aware she wasn’t hurt. The minivan is replaceable.”

Owner’s Perspective

The sober living home owner, who has run the recovery residence since last October, acknowledges that the journey toward sobriety from addiction and trauma is not always linear.

“This represents a psychological and substance abuse emergency,” Walters emphasized. “We need more support. We need greater resources for those that are facing challenges.”

“The recovery process can be messy,” she added.