Students Fall Victim to Car Theft

On the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 16, two East students woke up to find their cars had been targeted by thieves prowling their Mission Hills neighborhoods. Junior Morgan Clausen’s car was stolen, and senior Mary Kate Workman’s car was broken into. While police are unsure whether the two thefts were related, over 8,000 dollars worth of possessions were stolen that night between the two robberies, according to Workman and Clausen.

Junior Morgan Clausen awoke to unsettling news on her day off of school Wednesday. Her BMW X3 had been stolen from her driveway during the night.

The locked car, with around 8,000 dollars of merchandise inside ranging from inherited family jewelry to a camera from the journalism department was suspected to have been stolen from the driveway of her Mission Hills home at 10:45 p.m. the previous night.

Clausen and her mother, Sarah Clark, recalled hearing their dogs bark for about an hour from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. that night. Clark glanced out the window, but did not see anything suspicious.

“Initially I just thought the dogs were barking at other dogs,” Clark said. “I looked out the window and saw my car, which was blocking Morgan’s, but I didn’t see anybody. When we let the dogs out they immediately ran to that side of the driveway and continued barking, but I didn’t really think anything of it.”

When Clark woke up the next morning, she discovered her daughter’s car was stolen, and promptly called the police. It was later speculated that the spare key to Clausen’s car might have been in the center console of her mother’s unlocked vehicle and that was how the thief was able to get into BMW.

The car not only held Clausen’s school backpack, but also a bag with her competitive cheerleading equipment, a diamond ring she received from her mother and the camera she checked out from the school journalism department.

According to Prairie Village Police Officer Steve Steck, the likelihood of stolen vehicles returning in tact with all the possessions inside is slim.

“It depends on what people do with [the vehicle],” Officer Steck said. “But if [the thief] is just out on a joyride, it might not come back in the greatest condition. Often times what [thieves] will do if they have other people in the car, is they’ll just pitch a bag or backpack out the window for more space.”

Police told Clausen there is a 50/50 chance that the car will be found, however as Officer Steck said the belongings have a much slighter chance of being recovered, which for Clausen is the hardest part of the whole situation.

“The thing I was most upset about was the fact that all the other stuff could be replaced, except for the ring my father gave to my mom in college before they got divorced,” Clausen said. “ Also, now I’m worried because I don’t have any of my stuff for first quarter. I don’t know how I will study for finals or do well on them.”

On the same night of Oct. 15, Senior Mary Kate Workman’s Volvo XC90 was broken into as well. Both Workman’s car and her father’s car were targeted by the thief, in addition to her neighbor’s car. Workman believes this occurred around midnight.

Workman lives near Clausen’s home in Mission Hills. However, it has not been determined if the two thefts are related. Like Clark’s car, Workman’s was unlocked during the night. Her Ralph Lauren sunglasses and wallet were taken from her car, and her father’s Ray Bans were stolen from his. Workman’s wallet did not contain money, but did have numerous gift cards from her recent birthday as well as her debit card.

However, the thief left Workman’s Coach purse, which she says cost more than anything else in the car. According to Workman, police said that the thief could possibly be a male since the expensive bag was not targeted whereas the sunglasses and wallet were.

Workman’s father initially discovered the break-ins while leaving for work Wednesday morning around 6 a.m. He got into his car only to find a mess left behind by the thief.

“The glove box had been opened and all the papers in the glovebox had been thrown all over the car,” Workman said. “It looked like they had just ran through the glove box and pulled everything out looking for money, everything was all disheveled.”

Officer Steck urges citizens not only in Mission Hills, but everywhere, to use caution and be vigilant when leaving belongings in unattended, or especially unlocked vehicles.

“Keep your doors locked, and valuables out of sight or in the house,” Officer Steck said. “I think some people have gotten into the mindset of ‘this could never happen to me,’ since they live in such a nice area, but, this is what we call a crime of opportunity. More than likely somebody just went around pulling up on door handles to see what was unlocked. It could happen to anybody.”