Glenda Alexander was asleep in her Dalmore home on Sunday when she was stirred by a noise that sounded like her new jet ski's trailer being shifted.
``It's got this really distinctive screech.''
She said ``I woke up and thought `that sounds like the trailer','' but that only half-awake, she did not investigate.
She later found the Sea-Doo GTI 90 - bought last Easter for $16,000 - and its Toko trailer had been stolen from her carport.
The offenders had broken a tow-ball lock to hitch the $2000 trailer to a tow-bar.
She had now taken more anti-theft measures with her remaining jet ski.
Ms Alexander, a union official who stood for Labour in the Waitaki electorate in 2014, appealed for whoever took the jet ski to return it to her or let her know where it was, no questions asked.
``If the people who took it could anonymously tell us where it is ... that would be a good outcome for us.
``Just to find out and get it back would be really important given what it means to our family.''
A jet ski expert said whoever took the machine would have a hard time starting it as it featured a ``computerised key system'', similar to the keyless entry used in modern cars.
It meant the offenders would need to take it into a jet ski dealer to get it working.
``It'll probably go north or get dismantled and [the engine/jet] put in a mini jet boat.''
Senior Sergeant Trevor Thomson, of Dunedin, said it was not the only burglary this weekend.
Other burglaries reported to police since Friday.-
A Toshiba laptop from a Graham St house during the day on Sunday.
200 litres of diesel from an Outram property on Sunday.
$400 cash from a Carroll St property in central Dunedin overnight Saturday.
Call Dunedin police on (03)471-4800, or Crimestoppers 0800-555-111.
