Earlier this month, Danielle Reno, a woman from Kansas City, Missouri, didn’t get much help from police when her car was stolen, so she took matters into her own hands and tracked the thieves down herself.
Reno says that she only stepped out of her car for a few seconds, and then it was gone when she turned around.
“I got out of the car for two seconds and grabbed my daughter, turned around, and my car was gone. Did I park somewhere else? No. I know I parked here.’ And then I’m like, ‘Somebody stole my car.’ It was all downhill from there,” Reno explained.
She filed a police report, but if you’ve ever had something stolen yourself, you’re probably aware that police don’t usually bust out their mythical CSI skills to track down your property at the drop of a hat. Most stolen cars end up significantly damaged and abandoned after just a short amount of time away from their owners, and that wasn’t a risk that Reno was willing to take.
Reno had valuables, including her debit and credit cards, inside the vehicle when it was stolen, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. After the thief began using the cards, Reno had a general idea of the person’s location. She was also able to access even more targeted tracking thanks to the GPS enabled cellphone that was left in the car as well.
“We stalked this lady, literally, for 48 hours. She had no idea what we were doing,” Reno said.
Reno found her vehicle while the suspects were inside of a local Applebees. While they were were busy inside, she ran up to the vehicle and used a spare key to open the doors and drive away as her sister stayed back to make sure that the suspects didn’t get away.
When Reno finally did recover her car, it was a total mess. It was filled with beer cans and crack pipes and other items. Reno says that the car is now so gross that she will likely end up selling it.