Frontline officers in B.C. got the mozzarella but didn’t get their man in a recent “cheese heist” at a Whole Foods in North Vancouver.

RCMP say they were on patrol Sept. 29 when they found a cart full of cheese outside the grocery store near East 13th Street and Lonsdale Avenue.

It was 4 a.m., and the store was closed, so police say they started to investigate and identified a suspect, who fled on foot, leaving the cheese behind.

The total value of the cheese was assessed at $12,800, but “sadly, the cheese was no longer able to be sold after it left the fridge,” said Cst. Mansoor Sahak in a written statement.

Sahak said stopping the theft was a result of police proactively patrolling high-crime areas.

Police are now asking for anyone with information about the theft to come forward.