West Seattle Crime Watch update: Stolen car, needed for volunteer work, found!

ORIGINAL MONDAY REPORT: Another stolen car to watch for – this report arrived this morning from Patricia:

I would like to report that my car, a red Subaru station wagon plate number ARD 1430, was stolen sometime early Friday morning, September 5th. If anyone sees it, please call Seattle Police with incident number 14-296238. I was told that Subaru steals have been on the rise lately. I hope to find my car as I do a lot of volunteer work that requires me to haul things around. Police said it will probably be abandoned somewhere in West Seattle the next two weeks. It is red, with racing rims on it and might still have a cross hanging from the mirror. Thanks, West Seattle Blog, I have often seen cars returned through the good hearts and eagle eyes of the people who read this.

Indeed, thanks to everyone who keeps an eye out – one of the recent “reunions,” for example, was a car mentioned here and spotted by a reader in an odd spot in a large parking lot. Patricia’s car was taken from the 7900 block of 17th SW (map).

TUESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Found!

My red Subaru that was stolen and reported on the blog yesterday was found. An hour and 1/2 after it was reported on the blog it was dropped off at a business in White Center. We tracked the time their truck vacated the spot and when they returned and the car was there. Could they have seen it on the blog? I like to think so; you and the people of West Seattle are making a difference in the amount of cars being returned.

6 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch update: Stolen car, needed for volunteer work, found!"

  • Mer September 8, 2014 (12:49 pm)

    What model of wagon? Year? Just wondering as it will be easier to spot! I was recently told that Subaru cars were “un-steal-able.” Guess I will be keeping my doors locked and my alarm on.
    I really hope you get your Subie back!

    • WSB September 8, 2014 (12:52 pm)

      Mer, I should have asked. But according to the corresponding tweet on @getyourcarback (SPD refuses to put location information in those tweets so we don’t know which ones are WS cars unless we hear from the victims, like Patricia), it’s a red 1995 Legacy. The 1990s Subarus seem to be, at least in some cases, as vulnerable as the 1990s Hondas – there was one day recently when five in a row were 1990s Subarus. – TR

  • smead September 8, 2014 (1:11 pm)

    Unfortunately, 1990s Subarus and Hondas are, by far, the easiest cars in the world to steal… they are also very common, especially in Seattle. Consider some sort of anti-theft device, it won’t dissuade the pros, but it may give the amateurs something to think about.

    Also, if you own a 90’s Honda or Subaru, keep an eye on your license plates – for every stolen car, there is usually also a set of unrelated stolen plates (just to make it a little harder to track down).

  • B-squared September 8, 2014 (1:59 pm)

    Good point, smead. My subie had the front plate stolen and put on a near identical subie that wracked up a fair number for parking tickets. took me a while to notice my plate was gone. Had to do some detective work to figure out how my car was getting parking tickets from areas that i never frequent.

  • C September 8, 2014 (4:12 pm)

    About a year ago one of my neighbors ( in the Lowman beach area ) had his late 90’s Outback stolen. When it was found a few days later less than a mile away… Nothing was broken ( lock/window/stearing ). Cop told him that the theaf had a dealer key & it was becoming common seeing these with no damage after being recovered. Next day we both bought a yellow 4 prong club.

  • b September 8, 2014 (5:56 pm)

    Subaru’s are one of the most often stolen cars. If you have a Subaru, I’d make sure you have comprehensive insurance.

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