SEATTLE — A suspected thief who was spotted riffling through mailboxes near Seattle on Wednesday was arrested after he tried to flee first by foot and then by kayak.

One resident witnessed the incident and hopped into his kayak to chase him down while Lake Sammamish police were shouting from the dock, ordering the thief to paddle back to shore. Authorities said he surrendered without incident.

The incident started about 7:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve, when the suspect, in his 30s, was spotted with a woman going through mailboxes, one house after another.

Once squad cars arrived in the neighborhood, the two abandoned their car and fled on foot.

The suspects ran through yards to elude authorities and finally, at about 8:20 a.m., the female suspect, in her 20s, gave up. She was arrested and booked for investigation of mail theft. The male suspect continued to run and tried to flee on a kayak that was docked.

The thief was lying on his stomach, trying to paddle with his hands. “That’s just not going to cut it. You’re not going to get very far that way,” said King County sheriff’s Sgt. DB Gates.

Authorities found “large amount of mail,” inside the car, which was reportedly stolen earlier that morning.

He was booked for investigation of vehicle theft and mail theft.