I've got nothing helpful to add, but very sorry to hear of this, and that it had to occur during your vacation. Hopefully you are still able to enjoy the rest of the time with your family without this causing too much grief.
I've got nothing helpful to add, but very sorry to hear of this, and that it had to occur during your vacation. Hopefully you are still able to enjoy the rest of the time with your family without this causing too much grief.
Jeff Martin
Probably something related to human trafficking, drug running, or possibly gang related for drive bys.
Like the others have said, use for criminal activity.
If it were to be stolen in my town, I'd expect a burglary of some sort on the horizon.......a "safe" job or ATM would be ripe for the pickings. Back that van through the front glass of the target building (aka smash and grab), snatch the ATM or safe up, and load it in the back. Very quick and easy to just drive off with nobody the wiser.
Jewelry or gun store/pawn shop would be the next thing I'd expect to be hit. At the very least, it would be taken to a local chop shop, all the parts stripped off of it, and then crushed at the local metal recycle place. Other possibilites:
Bank robbery getaway vehicle
run a large shipment of dope and if the cops light you up, just beat feet it and leave the van/dope behind
Take across the border for sale/chop
Mule running illegals across the border
etc
Criminals need wheels too.....and it's far better to use your wheels than their own.
We had a professional safe team in town back years ago that did this all the time. Vans were their favorite but full sized trucks were good too. They would back the truck through the glass, tie a huge logging chain around the safe or ATM (the other end of the chain already tied to the bumper), and drive wide open out the front snatching that safe/atm along with them. Once outside, the two lookouts (complete with walkie talkies) would assist in loading the wares up in the back of the truck and they would haul tail.
It literally took seconds. Impressive to watch on video. And since it's burglary, every time we would pinch them, the courts would turn them loose until trial since it was not considered a "dangerous" felony like robbery or rape. Property crimes are prosecuted weakly. Not weekly......as in very weak. So the juice was worth the risk for the crew.
We finally sent them off for like 10 years but I'm sure they are all out by now.....doing it again somewhere else.
Regards.
Another lesson learned: store the license plate number and VIN someplace you can access on vacation. I got the VIN from the dealership we serviced it at.
The license was the hardest part of the police report. I eventually had to go through old photos to find it as the dealer and insurance agent did not have a record and AZ MVD would not divulge it over the phone.
Anyway now I have a note on the phone with the information and will for all cars going forward.
I guess I am naive, but I sort of thought car theft now a days was car jacking or folks leaving it running or parking with keys in ignition due to all the chips etc on the vehicles. Looks like GM did not have any of that sort of technology in 2004.
I can’t think of one person I know who has had a car stolen ever.
Looks like the "why?" has been covered well. I'm glad you and your family are OK. The lost camera gear will be a lifelong lesson for your son. I can't see them driving all the way to your home, but we are talking about people who stole your vehicle, so I wouldn't make any assumptions.
Most garage door openers are reprogrammable, in that you can change the output code and then reprogram each opener to the new code. I would do this upon arriving home. You can probably find out exactly how by entering your model number in YouTube. If yours is too old or you just can't get it to change, unplug it, lock the garage door, and stop using the garage for whatever timeframe you feel comfortable with.
Leave all exterior lights on at night, especially at each point of entrance, if you don't already. I live in a semi-rural neighborhood with 1 acre lots, no sidewalks, and no street lights. The whole place is practically pitch black every night, but I leave our home lit up like it's Christmas year round. There is no doubt, if anyone came into our neighborhood at night with nefarious deeds on their mind, my house is the least inviting.
Hope the insurance process goes smoothly for you. Safe travels.
Sorry for the headaches, Enel. Years ago, my late father had his 80's vintage Toyota stolen a number of times. It was beyond maddening.
I always keep license, registration and insurance cards in my wallet, and the only thing I leave in the glove compartment is the Toyota 4Runner warranty info in case a repair is required on the road.
I have a safe in the console if I have to leave a firearm in the vehicle temporarily...but never overnight.
Hope you get lucky and get it back in good condition.
There's nothing civil about this war.
I should have never replied to this thread as it wasn't one hour later I was chasing a stolen Ford Edge in heavy, morning rush hour traffic.
Still can't believe nobody got killed in the chase. We cancelled it twice due to the danger he was posing and the SUV had a tracker anyway. Very accurate too because as they were telling me where he was stopped in traffic, he was right there.
Little foot hunt and he was caught. He had to abandon the Edge as he had hit several cars along the way.
This SUV had a hard time keeping up with him. Really not built for chasing.
Sorry for your loss and hassle. Since most of your questions and concerns were answered I'll add just a couple ideas that may be helpful for the future. When leaving on a trip we would secure the roll up garage door by using a C clamp in the track just above the wheels. This prevented use of key, opener or other methods of entry. Disconnecting the door opener may be needed depending on type and sensors as well as newer version with battery back up but many now have switches to turn them fully off so no trouble if you use the c clamp method to secure the main door.Originally Posted by Enel
I keep my registration and insurance in my wallet together behind by license and CHL so I don't have to reach into a console or glovebox if stopped by police and will have them in case the vehicle is stolen, damaged seriously on fire or in water and I need both the copies and information for reporting purposes to insurance and police. This also prevents a local thief from going straight to your home with a familiar vehicle to neighbors and knowing he is likely ahead of you. License number, VIN and policy number, company and usually contact phone number are on the registration and insurance cards. At a minimum consider taking a picture with your cell phone of front and back of reg and ins cards to keep info in your phone in case they are lost/veh stolen etc..
If the vehicle is recovered seriously consider requesting a K9 drug search of vehicle before you take possession in case small amount of personal drugs were left in vehicle by thief or users before you got it back. Most LE agencies should be helpful and understanding.
I use Gmail. I will photograph documents and then email them to myself and my wife. The system has a great search feature, so finding the info is usually quick and painless. Not likely we will both lose our phones, but even if we do we can access the info through a computer.
Probably has already delivered 2+ loads of "undocumented workers" across the border who are now hoping to cash in on amnesty, file for public assistance, kill another Kate Steinle and mooch of the system.
Using the same logic as the moniker "gun crime", the theft of your vehicle would be categorized as international large capacity human trafficking.
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