News
January 2009
NICB Report on Most Commonly Stolen Car in 2007
Click here for details
NICB Report on Top Stolen Car Hot Spots in 2007- Where does your City rank?
Click here for details
The importance of securing your license plate
Clever car thieves will swap license plates on the car they are stealing with a license plate on a car with a similar description. This way, if StolenCarReports Tippers or the police observe their car it will go undetected because a positive ID cannot be made on the vehicle from a far. Car owners can protect their license plates by using special locking screws. See www.Platelockers.com for such screws that cost under $10.
Driver of stolen pickup switched
license plates in Maxwell
By Staff Reports
Posted: 01/03/2009 12:10:28 AM PST
BIGGS CA — The driver of a pickup truck stolen from Placer County stopped in the Colusa County town of Maxwell to steal license plates before leading authorities on a high-speed pursuit through three counties Thursday morning.
After avoiding a spike-strip on Highway 32 at Meridian Road, the 17-year-old driver headed for Biggs, where he finally pulled over and surrendered to officers shortly before 2 a.m.
The Williams office of the California Highway Patrol said the driver took front and rear license plates from a similar vehicle in Maxwell, then replaced them with plates from the stolen vehicle.
Authorities said they had a good description of the stolen truck, and the license plate switch didn't throw them off the track.
CHP officers recovered the stolen plates on Friday morning.
The auto thief reportedly ran stop signs, drove down the middle of roadways and reached speeds in excess of 100 mph in an attempt to elude police.
He was booked into Butte County Juvenile Hall in Oroville on charges of auto theft, license plate theft, reckless driving and evading police officers.
December 2008
StolenCarReports assists in recovery of Hummer from Mexico.
StolenCarReports Tippers assisted authorities in recovering a stolen Hummer that had been brought in to Mexico. Working with National Vehicle Services, the California Highway Patrol Border Division, the Baja California State Preventive Police, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, StolenCarReports was able to recover a stolen Hummer and have it returned to the United States to its owner. Special thanks to James Spiller at National Vehicle Services and Dennis Frias of the CHP.
September 2008
StolenCarReports unveils its new pre-registration gift certificate
program. Purchase a gift certificate for your friends for
only $2.50. Your friend will receive an email with the gift
certificate and a note from you. They can redeem their gift
certificate for a free pre-registration at any time. Click here to purchase gift certificates.
Most Commonly Stolen Cars
Americas Most Stolen Cars 2008 - Metcafe
July 2008
StolenCarReports.com rolls out its WAP mobile website. Now
you can search the StolenCarReports database easily from
your WAP enabled cell phone. In the event your vehicle is
ever stolen you can register your vehicle right on the spot
on the phone and have alerts sent out immediately. Better
yet, pre-register your car in the system and save time and
money in the event your car is ever stolen. Pre-registration
is 86% off the regular fee to have alerts sent out on your
vehicle.
StolenCarReports was featured in a cover story
for the APB Magazine. A publication of the International
Association of Auto Theft Inverstigators. To download a
copy of the report click
here.
April 2007
StolenCarReports Alerts are now being sponsored
by Starter
Sentry from Master Lock. You'll want to see this cutting
edge auto-theft device. To learn more
click here.
February 2007
A man in San Pedro has his stolen car back
--- after he saw it being driven around and alerted police.
Police say the victim saw his 1994 Honda Accord
drive by about an hour after filing a stolen vehicle report
early this morning. The man flagged down a patrol car, which
started following the Honda. After a brief chase, the driver
of the stolen car stopped, got out and ran. Police soon
caught and arrested the suspect.
May 2006
StolenCarReports RSS feeds now available.
Participate in StolenCarReports - "The
Nation's Neighborhood Watch for Stolen Vehicles" by
receiving and publishing RSS feeds of stolen vehicle listings
from StolenCarReports.com
Webmasters - Click
here to integrate RSS feeds into your website.
RSS, often described as "Really Simple
Syndication," allows users to create a menu of updated
news sources. Users can link to headlines on topics of their
choosing on a variety of web sites. In our case, StolenCarReports.com
offers a selection of RSS feeds that provide updated StolenCarReports
based on either location, vehicle make and model, or most
commonly stolen vehicles. Place the RSS feed of your choice
into your RSS reader on your brower, or on your website,
and each StolenCarReport listing will link you back to StolenCarReports.com
for the entire report.
February 2006
StolenCarReports releases ZIP Code search
box for stolen cars that can be used on any website. Webmasters
can now provide their users with access to the StolenCarReports
database simply by adding this search box.
Webmasters click
here to pick up the code for the search box.
Other Auto Theft Stories In The News
May 2005
A 22-year-old New Jersey man saw two strangers
driving what looked like his grandfather's car on the highway
and used his cellphone to call his father.
When his father told him that the car had
been stolen earlier in the day in Newark, he called police
and followed the 1990 Toyota into the town of Saddle Brook.
There, police pursued the vehicle onto the Garden State
Parkway before the car crashed near a shopping mall
Both occupants of the car ran across the highway and jumped
from an overpass. The driver, Ramon Vasquez, 19, of Newark,
hurt his leg and was caught, the captain said. The passenger,
a 16-year-old, was captured a short time later by local
police.
Februrary 2005
California Citizens Assist Police in Capture
of Car Thieves
A Manteca, CA woman who started her Lexus
and then stepped away to move a garbage can turned back
to find two thieves about to make off with her car. Thieves
picked the wrong car and the wrong car owner.
"She actually went out and caught someone
in her car," said Manteca Police Department spokesperson
Rex Osborn. "She pulled them out and said, 'not my
car!'"
However, the story didn't end there. As the
suspects fled, the woman called police with a description.
The information was broadcast on the police radio net and
Robert Sumner heard it. Making rounds in his garbage truck,
he came upon a car matching the description and called authorities.
"There's a million places they could have gone, but
they just happened to be right where I was at," marveled
Sumner.
First Manteca police officers and then the
California Highway Patrol chased one of the suspects into
rural Stockton. There the 16-year-old was arrested in a
stolen Lexus. The other suspect got away in what police
believe is a stolen Chevrolet pickup truck.
British Newspaper Readers Help Police Locate
Stolen Car
A stolen electric blue 5-series BMW taken
from its owner by force in a car-jacking incident outside
a busy city shopping center has been found - with the help
of Coventry Evening Telegraph readers.
The local police's robbery team received a
number of calls from people who had read about the car-jack
in the Evening Telegraph. The Tippers told police where
the car was parked and it was later recovered.
.Full
Story
Family Spots Their Stolen Car on TV
The Myles Family, of Jackson, MS, was glued to the television
set Thursday, watching live coverage of a Jackson Fire Department
diver's struggle against strong currents to reach a car
partially submerged in the town creek. Before too long they
noticed Tina Myles' blue, 1989 Buick LeSabre, which had
been stolen earlier in the morning from outside her house
was the submerged car.
January 18, 2004
StolenCarReports.com is featured as Site of the Day on AskMen.com
.
December 2003
Jeep Owner recovers his own stolen car
Owner recalls how he spotted his stolen Jeep while returning
a rental car. Click
here for the full story.
British Drag Racing Tippers help racer
recover stolen vehicle
An auto thief who stole a sports car featured in the cult
classic The Fast and The Furious was caught with the help
of race car fans.
Shane Pearce's 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse 2.0
GST Turbo was stolen from him by a man posing as a buyer.
He quickly alerted racing fans in his area and they were
soon spotting the stolen vehicle in areas from Nottinghamshire
to the Scottish Borders.
When the Mitsubishi was spotted in Carlisle
three days later, police pounced.
Five police vehicles used a rolling road block
before the car was finally stopped and the driver arrested.
Mr Pearce said he was determined to find the
car - bought for $11,000 and souped up for another $13,000
- after it was snatched on 3 January.
"With the internet, car clubs and enthusiasts'
clubs behind me that thief was never going to get away."
The 22-year-old was inundated with more than
200 phone calls and text messages during the hunt for the
stolen car.
He revealed the thief was brazen enough to
show off the Mitsubishi, one of only 60 in the UK, at meetings
of illegal racers.
British Police said a 23-year-old man had
been arrested and was being questioned.
Alert motorist tips off police to vehicle
driven by mass murderer
holding hostages
January 9, 2004
Hours after Georgia's version of the
Amber Alert went out in the abduction of three children,
an alert motorist thought he recognized the kidnapping suspect's
vehicle on Interstate 75 and dialed 911 on his cell phone.
"I need to know the Amber Alert license
plate number," the tipper asked the emergency dispatcher
at the sheriff's office in Dalton, Georgia, 24 miles northwest
of Ranger, Georgia, the scene of the abduction.
In the Gordon County town, police said Jerry
William Jones, 31, abducted two daughters and their half
sister after killing his three in-laws and one of his daughters.
The police dispatcher read out the number
-- Georgia plate 730 YFV -- and asked the tipper, who apparently
was a passenger in a car driven by another person, if he
had seen the vehicle.
"Just one second," he said and paused.
Moments later, he spoke again. "Yeah, that's it,"
he said. "We're right behind it."
He verified that the vehicle he was trailing
was a red 1991 Ford Explorer and told the dispatcher he'd
just passed mile marker 330 near Dalton. "There's a
gentleman [in the vehicle], and I think there's a couple
of kids," he said.
Police eventually caught up with Jones's vehicle
and were able to apprehend him before he harmed the young
hostages.
Brittney Phelps, 10; Brandy Jones, 4; and
Tammy Jones, 3; had a brief reunion Friday with their mother,
Melissa Peeler, after the harrowing kidnapping ordeal.
Winter 2004
StolenCarReports Tipper leads West Sacramento
Police to
stolen Chevy F-10
On January 5th, 2004 an anonymous tip made
to StolenCarReports.com led to West Sacramento Police
authorities recovering a stolen Chevy F-10 Pickup Truck.
Special thanks to the good samaritan that submitted the
info.
Summer 2003
"So,
you want to buy my (stolen) van?"
This
story began on 8 April 2003, when David Tersigni of Camarillo,
CA
discovered that his Toyota Cargo Van had been stolen from
the street in
front of his home. Tersigni called police, reported the
theft, and began
the process of waiting to see if the van would be found.
As
his frustration over the theft grew, Tersigni turned to
the Internet for
help. His search took him to StolenCarReports.com - The
Nation's
Neighborhood Watch For Stolen Vehicles. As soon as Tersigni
registered his
van on the website, StolenCarReports began issuing "Stolen
Vehicle Alerts"
to the public in a wide area around the van's last known
location. Several
weeks passed without any sightings of Tersigni's van.
Then,
on 1 June 2003, Tersigni received an unexpected phone
call from a man
who was interested in purchasing the van. The caller,
Gary (name altered
for privacy purposes), had seen a "For Sale"
sign in one of the van's
windows and had dialed the phone number listed on the
sign.
Tersigni
asked Gary some questions and then informed him that the
van had
been stolen almost two months earlier. Gary told Tersigni
where he had
seen the van and provided directions to the location about
50 miles away in
Montrose, CA.
That
wasn't the end of the phone call - Gary was STILL interested
in buying
the Van! Of course, he was now looking for the "I
just helped you recover
your stolen Van" discount.
Following
his conversation with Gary, Tersigni phoned the Los Angeles
Sheriff's Department and the LASD sent a patrol unit out
to investigate. A
little later, Deputy Brant called Tersigni from Park Street
in Montrose to
confirm that the van had been located.
Under
normal circumstances, a recovered stolen vehicle is towed
to an
impound lot where it is held until claimed by the owner.
Tersigni
explained to the officer that the van was not insured
for theft and asked
if he could to take possession of the van from where it
had been found.
Deputy Brant agreed and arranged to meet with Tersigni
at the van's
location.
Who
did Tersigni call next? You guessed it - Gary. The two
decided to
meet at the location where Gary had first spotted the
van.
When
Tersigni arrived on the scene he noticed that his van
appeared to have
been parked in the same spot for several weeks. Fortunately,
he discovered
that only minimal damage had been done to the inside of
the van. After
completing paperwork and collecting evidence, Deputy Brant
let Tersigni
take possession of his van.
When
Gary arrived, he and Tersigni took the Van for a test
drive and
negotiated a purchase agreement. Moments later, Gary gave
Tersigni a check
for the Van. And yes, Gary did get the "I just helped
you recover your
stolen Van" discount...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
StolenCarReports.com featured as Cool Site of The Day
on January 21, 2003
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Alert Citizens Spot Wanted Murderer's Car and Tip
Off Police
A fugitive charged with killing his wife and three children
and dumping their bodies in a forest was captured Saturday
after a two week manhunt, and after alert citizens spotted
his vehicle and called police.
Edward Morris, 37, was arrested without incident in a
drug store parking lot here, said Baker County District
Attorney Matt Shirtcliff. He had been described as ``armed
and dangerous'' but authorities did not say whether he
had a weapon.
The bodies of Renee Morris, 31, Bryant, 10, Alexis, 8
and Jonathan, 4, were found by hunters Dec. 21 on an isolated
road in the Tillamook State Forest. Police believe they
were killed the day before.
The area, in mountainous forest about 70 miles west of
Portland, is covered with second growth timber and underbrush;
it is popular with dirt bikers, all-terrain vehicle riders
and hunters.
Authorities have not specified how the victims were killed,
but autopsies completed late last month showed the four
victims died of ``homicidal violence,'' according to court
documents. No motive has been determined.
Prosecutors charged Morris with murder while he was still
a fugitive. He had lived with his family in Portland.
Tom Stubblefield, spokesman for the family of Renee Morris,
said they are ``really elated, relieved'' about the arrest.
``Overall I think the family will sleep well tonight,''
he said.
Two witnesses spotted Morris's gray 1993 Dodge Caravan
near the town of Durkee, called police and followed him
about 20 miles to Baker City. A $50,000 reward had been
offered for information leading to the arrest; it was
not immediately clear whether that money would go to the
witnesses.
``We saw it at the same time, and we said, 'Oh, is that
it, is that the number?' `` said Linda Martin, who was
traveling with her brother, Thom, when they recognized
the van. ``We sort of played tag with the van. I didn't
want to look at him, it's scary,'' she told television
reporters.
Shirtcliff said Morris was not in jail but was ``in a
secure location with the major crime team.'' He said Tillamook
County authorities were flying to Baker City and would
take over the case.
Relatives and neighbors described the Morrises as extremely
religious and dedicated to their children.
Edward Morris had trouble holding a job and started several
roofing and landscaping businesses over the past years.
The Morrises filed for bankruptcy in 1993 for one of those
businesses, Sunrise Roofing, according to court records.
Posted
on 01/06/2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCR
Tipper finds Stolen Car in abandoned mine in Superstition
Mountains
A
stolen 1998 Nissan Sentra was recovered by local sheriffs
on Thursday December 19th in an abandoned mine near the
south side of the Superstition Mountains in Gold Canyon,
Arizona. Police were tipped off to the location of the
stolen vehicle by staff at the StolenCarReports Program,
the company that runs The Nation's Neighborhood Watch
For Stolen Vehicles. John Carlton, a registered participant
in the anti-theft program had come across the vehicle
while hiking through the area and noted down the Vehicle
Identification Number (VIN). Later in the day the Mr.
Carlton submitted the VIN to the StolenCarReports.com
website and received confirmation shortly after that the
vehicle was indeed stolen.
Sgt.
Lonnie Buckels of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office was
contacted by the StolenCarReports Program staff and alerted
to the approximate location of the vehicle. Sgt. Buckels
sought out and received the assistance of the tipper,
Mr. Carlton, who accompanied the Sheriffs to the location
and assisted in the recovery of the vehicle.
The
tipper, John Carlton, said that he often explores the
desert on his days off, driving as far as he can on back
roads and then hiking through brush and cactus in search
of adventure. While hiking Gold Canyon on Sunday December
15th he came across a mine pit 15 feet across and 8-10
feet deep. When he entered the abandoned mine he found
a fairly new looking 1998 Nissan Sentra, which turned
out to have been stolen 2.5 years ago in July 2000.
For
his assistance in recovering a stolen vehicle Mr. Carlton
is eligible for a cash reward up to $250.
Posted
on 12/20/2002
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StolenCarReports.com named AutoGuide.net
Featured Site of the Week
Posted
on 12/02/2002
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Alert
Truck Driver spots Chevrolet
Caprice wanted in connection with the Washington-area
sniper slayings
Ron
Lantz said he noticed the car, which matched the description
given in news coverage, after pulling in to a rest area
near Frederick. He discussed what to do with another driver,
and then decided to call 9-1-1.
"They told me 'We'll be there as soon as possible,'"
he said.
"They said, 'You stay right where you're at.'"
Then, somebody else at the scene suggested that Lantz move
his truck to block the exit from the rest area, to prevent
the car from leaving, which he did.
"I just sat there and waited, kept watching my mirrors,"
he said. "It was all I could do."
About 15 to 20 minutes later, "that place was full
of FBI," he said.
People should not think of him as a hero, Lantz said. "I'm
no hero," he said. "I just want people to think
what I did was what I should have done."
Authorities had posted a $500,000 reward for information
leading to the arrest of the sniper suspects, believed responsible
for killing 10 people and wounding three others since October
2. Lantz, who is just five runs short of retiring as a truck
driver, said if any of the reward money comes his way, "I'd
probably take it back and give it to the people who were
shot." "At least half of it, anyway."
Posted
on 10/25/2002
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Southern
California Auto Theft Task Force honored as Auto-Theft.info
Heroes of the Month
This month's Winner International Auto-Theft.info Hero
of the Month goes to an entire team: The Orange County
Auto Theft Task Force. This dedicated group of crime fighters
is being singled out for their consistently strong efforts
at combating auto theft in Orange County over the past
few years. The Task Force (OCATT) is a multi-jurisdictional
law enforcement program that investigates, arrests, and
prosecutes professional and career criminals responsible
for Orange County vehicle thefts.
Many Orange County law enforcement agencies are involved
in OCATT, which began operations in July 1993. These include
the police departments in Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa
Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra,
Newport Beach, Placentia, Santa Ana, and Westminster.
Other agencies involved include the California Highway
Patrol, the California Department of Insurance, the Orange
County District Attorney's Office, and Orange County Sheriffs
Department.
OCATT currently has nineteen full-time auto theft detectives
assigned from local police departments, one lieutenant,
two sergeants, two full-time deputy district attorneys,
two administrative assistants, and a full time accountant.
Agents from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Orange
County Probation Department, the Department of Motor Vehicles,
and the Department of Insurance also participate in the
program.
See full story at Auto-Theft.info
Posted on 10/10/2002
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Citizens
Honored For Fighting Auto Theft
