West Seattle Crime Watch: Car stolen for 2nd time in 1 year

| Crime | West Seattle news

Be on the lookout for Karen‘s car – stolen again:

Stolen last night from front of house 7300 block of 29th SW, 1998 RED HONDA CRV with roof bike rack and bike rack (Thule) attached to back spare tire. Police report filed. This car was stolen almost a year ago and found 11 days later, 16 blocks away.

Karen’s car also is now on SPD’s @getyourcarback Twitter feed. As for current car-theft trends in West Seattle, here’s what’s on the city’s police-reports map for the past week:

Those seven thefts (the circle with a “2” in it denotes a car theft and a different crime) were reported between the 10th (last Tuesday) and 16th (yesterday). Car-theft details are not made available, so if it ever happens to you (we hope not!), please do what Karen did and send us the basics so we can help get the word out. One theft per day is average in this area, according to the past few months of online stats.

Bryan September 17, 2013 (10:42 am)

For what its worth, my 18 month old daughters pink whisper ride push car was stolen Sunday night in the HighPoint neighborhood. We’re hoping it was just taken for a joy ride and abandoned. We have taken her out in it at least twice a day since she got it in May. It sounds like its time to install some cameras.

WSB September 17, 2013 (10:43 am)

Bryan – e-mail us about it and we will include it in the next Crime Watch. We’ve posted before about kids’ items like wagons and strollers that have been stolen … sometimes they do get found … at least you can have a community of folks watching for it. – TR

Elisa September 17, 2013 (11:13 am)

as an owner of a 99 CRV – WHY would someone want to steal a 15 year old car? and twice??

WSB September 17, 2013 (11:16 am)

Remember that many cars, according to police/prosecutors, aren’t stolen for their value as a car. They’re stolen for parts, they’re stolen as getaway cars to the next “caper,” or as transportation for whatever else the criminals are up to … Same thing as most bicycles. They’ll often be ridden just from theft scene to next crime scene, ergo so many turning up abandoned. (We publish those too – stolen OR found – but always be sure to alert police BEFORE you send info to us …) – TR

East Coast Cynic September 17, 2013 (1:00 pm)

My sympathies Karen, but are you using a car alarm?

JanS September 17, 2013 (2:36 pm)

Elisa…I asked myself the same question 2 years ago when my 1996 Saturn was stolen. It was found quite a bit of time later, completely stripped..no hood, no engine, no battery, no transmission, no tires,no bumper, no wheel wells, no leopard print umbrella in the back seat.. I did get a laugh, though…if they tried to use the engine in another vehicle, they were out of luck, it was burning oil incessantly, needed to be trashed..was stolen from a repair shop.

KK50 September 17, 2013 (4:56 pm)

Thank you WSB for posting on my car. Hoping my luck continues and it is safely returned , again. Perhaps I will investigate getting a car alarm, hard to justify putting $ into a 15 year old vehicle with 185,000 miles.

WSB September 17, 2013 (5:16 pm)

KK, here’s new reason for hope – we just got word that another recent stolen car reported here has just been recovered by police – in good shape, apparently – just a couple blocks from where it was stolen in Westwood. Hoping for good news for you – TR

Susan September 17, 2013 (6:04 pm)

Late 90s-era Hondas are notoriously easy to steal. Ours was a couple of years ago, and we invested in a Club – an inexpensive deterrent that so far has worked.

Dale September 17, 2013 (7:10 pm)

Pre 2000 Japanese cars are fairly easy to steal. I say that from experience as I was a fire & theft investigator for a major insurer approx 10 years ago. @JanS the 96 Saturn has the same ignition system as a Hummer, both GM products. The key could be used to start each others vehicles in many cases. Alarms can be worked around by cutting the wire which runs right along the wheel well from the battery to the dash. Club is better but if a thief wants your car they can cut through the club too. I’ve seen thieves use a tennis ball to bypass the door lock by cutting a pinhole in it, pressing it up against the door lock and snapping it, the air forces up the door lock. I’ve seen a thief take out a rear glass on a jaguar to steal the thousands of dollars of stereo equipment built in and attached to the floor. Finally, I’ve seen thieves steal a tow truck, then back up to your parked vehicle on the street or in a garage and then take it. My recommendation is if your vehicle is a target vehicle then insure it with a low deductible. It may get stolen multiple times.

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