The snowmobile was chained to the front porch of the house, but that didn't stop a thief in eastern Ontario early Friday morning.

Ontario Provincial Police said a man was awakened around 4 a.m. in Clarence Township, about 40 kilometres east of Ottawa, by the sudden rumbling of his Polaris snowmobile's motor.

'If I was advising someone to chain or cable their snowmobile to something, I would suggest something immovable like a tree or something that's not going to be able to be dragged away.'— Ontario Provincial Police Const. Dana Mellon

The man went outside to find unusual patterns and trenches in the snow left by a snowmobile dragging his small wooden porch, which was missing from his house, police said.

Police said the snowmobile owner got in his car and followed the distinctive tracks for 25 minutes to a field where he found an abandoned pickup truck and the snowmobile with the porch still chained to it.

He directed police there and an OPP canine unit managed to pick up a foot trail.

Around 5:30 a.m., they found a man who is in police custody.

OPP Const. Dana Mellon said police receive calls about snowmobile thefts daily at this time of year and owners should protect their vehicles.

"If I was advising someone to chain or cable their snowmobile to something," he said, "I would suggest something immovable like a tree or something that's not going to be able to be dragged away."