BOISE - A man who fled Boise police Thursday evening, may have gotten away for a short time. But it appears he left behind one very important possession - his cell phone.

It all started Thursday afternoon, during rush hour traffic near the Fred Meyer on Franklin and Orchard.

Lt. Alan Cavener with Boise Police, says a man stole Darlene Potvin's car, while she left it running outside her home to warm up earlier in the morning.

"They're just nervy buggers," Potvin said. "They just go, oh look at this, and then took it."

"This is an opportunity for a thief to steal the vehicle so everybody needs to think about that if you leave your vehicle outside and it's iced over," Cavener said.

He says an officer spotted the driver, later identified as Matthew C. Humphreys, 23, in the stolen car around 5:30 in the evening, at Franklin and Orchard.

That's when police say the Humphreys began driving recklessly. Because it was rush hour traffic, authorities didn't follow.

"In the interest of public safety, it's just not worth chasing a stolen car through rush hour traffic in a heavily populated area," Cavener said.

A citizen then led police to a nearby canal off of Garden and Albion St. One neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous, says she fears for her safety.

"The guy came around and he nearly clipped the car and he nearly caused a really bad accident with cars coming from all directions," she said.

But there was no suspect to be found by the canal, so authorities brought in the K9 unit that picked up a scent and fingerprinted the vehicle.

"With the evidence we found in the car, I think there's a real good chance we'll be able to identify the suspect," Cavener said.

While Potvin says she's happy to have her Pontiac back, there's still unfinished business.

"I'm going to go driving, go looking for him," Potvin said.

Police have charged Humphreys with grand theft.