IE Cars Are Disappearing From Driveways Amid Unsolved Tow Away Thefts

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — A spate of vehicle thefts involving a white tow truck has stirred anxiety and anger across Southern California, as cars have been hauled away from residential driveways in brazen overnight thefts.

Residents of the Inland Empire have taken to social media to post videos of their vehicles being taken from their own homes. The posts date back to at least March and as recent as New Year's Day.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told Patch on Wednesday that it has confirmed three of these incidents, as well as similar thefts reported in neighboring counties. Officer Jenny Smith confirmed that the department has elevated the case to a special division to handle the investigation.

"We are working diligently to identify and apprehend those responsible," Officer Jenny Smith said in an email.

The department was unable to release information about the case over concerns that doing so might compromise "the progress" of the investigation, Smith said.

Patch has reached out to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department to confirm any such thefts in the county.

At 6 a.m. in early December, an unmarked white tow truck entered a Chino neighborhood, where the driver stopped in front of a Cadillac CTS-V coupe, latched on using a self-loading lift and drove away without ever stepping outside of the truck, the Los Angeles Times reported.

This was the car Jesse Roller had saved up for years to buy, only for it to be taken away in a moment.

“I spent three hours calling the surrounding police stations ... saying, ‘Hey, did you guys tow this vehicle?’ and they all said ‘No,’” Roller told the Times. “That’s how I knew it wasn’t a mistaken [repossession]. My car was just gone.”

While many victims of these recent thefts have not been able to recover their cars, according to a Times investigation, Roller said his was located in Compton, but it was stripped to pieces for parts.

“I went to the tow yard, and that’s when they said, ‘It’s been completely stripped.’ I go look at it and it was just completely destroyed,” Roller told the Times. “I mean, they even took the seats. Literally everything was gone but the shell. I was heartbroken.”

Anyone with information about these thefts are urged to call the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department at 909-384-5742 or report it online.