Denver auto thefts increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, couple have 2 stolen cars in 2 weeks

DENVER – A surveillance camera mounted above the garage did not stop a brazen car thief from stealing Erika Gebhardt’s car while he was parked in the garage.

“Somehow, they took our spare key and stole our car from the garage at 2:30 am,” said Erika.

Since then, it has been a difficult two weeks for Erika and her husband, Chris Gebhardt. The stolen car was finally recovered, but a few days later the other car was stolen while they were preparing to leave a friend’s house.

“I couldn’t believe it happened twice,” said Chris.

Both times, technology has played a critical role in recovering stolen vehicles. The Gebhardts managed to track the stolen cars using their smartphones and transmitted the information to the police. They were frustrated when they felt that the police were not acting on the basis of this information.

“So, at that point, I just thought, ‘Okay, let’s at least take a look at this,'” said Chris.

Chris ended up calling an Uber and, with the help of a Good Samaritan, managed to track his car down an alley.

“This is the second time in two weeks that we found our own vehicle after it was stolen. I mean, when my vehicle was stolen two weeks ago, we did exactly the same thing,” said Erika.

Denver7 asked a Denver Police Department spokesman about the response to the Gebhardts case and she replied, “The Denver Police Department appreciates the feedback and if reporting parties have concerns about the call handling process and / or the DPD response, we encourage them to contact us so that we can discuss this with them. “

According to the DPD, the car theft on February 3 happened when the vehicle was left running in the garage. The spokesman said the couple had been warned that there would be a delayed response due to the high volume of calls at the time. Both cases remain open.