Looking back, two silver Buicks, parked only three spaces from one another, equals one memorable experience for an Andalusia man Tuesday.

Sgt. Ray Dixon of the Andalusia Police Department said the gentleman traveled to Wal-Mart to get an oil change and pick up a few necessities, leaving the keys in the car so store officials could take care of business.

“Instead, he comes back out and finds his car gone,” Dixon said.

The man immediately called the APD, and a quick review of the store’s surveillance tapes revealed what happened, Dixon said.

“First off, his car was a silver Buick, early 90s, with blue interior,” he said. “We rewind the video and watch as a woman comes out of the store, walks up to the car, opens the door, gets in and drives off. So, we backtracked the tapes even further and watched her get out of a silver Buick parked three spaces down from the man’s car.

“It made sense then,” he said.

“The only difference between the two cars really was the color of the interior,” he said. “Her’s is red; his, blue.”

Dixon said the woman, who apparently had traveled to Wal-Mart to get a prescription filled, had left her purse inside her unlocked car with her keys inside. When she came out of the store, she got into the first silver Buick she saw, thinking it was her car.

Dixon said once the woman’s identity was learned, he and the man traveled to the woman’s home in the Paul Community to retrieve his vehicle.