Tulsa Woman Warns Others After Thief Takes Keys, Car

Around 2,400 people have their car stolen every year in Tulsa, that's an average of seven people every day.

Tulsa's auto theft unit is down to only three investigators, which makes catching any of those thieves a big challenge.

One woman, who had her car stolen in a unique way, now has a warning for others.

At first glance, a stolen SUV that was recovered doesn't look that bad, but, a closer inspection shows flat tires, black spray paint on the side, electrical tape all over the hood and inside was even worse.

"Head rests ripped off the seats, looked like somebody leaned the seats back and slept there for a week, syringes, tooth brush. That feeling was almost worse than finding the car stolen,” said one car theft victim.

The woman went to the Walmart near 21st and Yale on October 7th during her lunch hour and laid her keys on the counter when paying.

She went to her car, realized she didn't have her keys, went back inside too look for them then returned to the parking lot to find that her car was gone.

"For a minute, I thought I was crazy, looking around the whole parking lot, ‘where did I park,' and I realized I knew where I parked and the car was gone,” she said.

Police told her surveillance video showed a man pick up her keys at checkout then watched her walk to her car, but as she came back inside, he jumped in took off.

To make matters worse, she had all kinds of paperwork in her car containing her personal information.

"Whoever took my car had the chance to know everything about me," she said.

She had to change the locks at her house, replace birth certificates and social security cards, plus, her car is a total loss. She said she feels violated by the whole ordeal.

"I'm a very trusting person, I love people, I want to help everybody, but this has made me back up and take a look at how cruel people can be," the woman said.

She wants to warn people to pay attention to what's going on around them, even in broad daylight, to keep their keys close at hand and never keep anything valuable, especially personal information, in their vehicles.