MERRIAM – Law enforcement authorities say a woman has been arrested after driving off with a Johnson County deputy’s vehicle.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the vehicle was recovered around 2 a.m. Monday — just minutes after the woman drove off in it. The theft happened after the deputy was dispatched to De Soto to check on a distraught woman standing on a street corner.

The release said the woman asked to be taken to a hospital in Merriam after it was determined that she hadn’t committed a crime and wasn’t a victim.

Upon arriving at the hospital, she is accused of sliding from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat as the deputy was walking around the vehicle to let her out.

The woman, identified as Stevi Zinn, 28, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s office, was apprehended nearby.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.