SUV broken into, but KC cops never showed. Then it was stolen. ‘They did nothing’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A Kansas City woman said KCPD didn’t respond after her vehicle was broken into last month.
- A Kansas City police detective is looking into the theft, a police spokesman said.
- The victim said she believes her SUV has been used in other crimes in the area.
After a prowler broke out a window in Nicole Keller’s SUV late one evening a couple of weeks ago, two of her Columbus Park neighbors called Kansas City police.
A neighbor scared off the masked group that had lurked on their street around 10:30 p.m. April 19, but Keller was out of town at the time, and her vehicle, which she had bought just a few days prior, sat exposed.
Police didn’t respond to the reports from neighbors, Keller said, and just a few hours later, the group of masked thieves returned and slid into her vehicle. They sped off down the street in the stolen SUV around 3 a.m. April 20.
“Police never once came by,” Keller said. “They did nothing.”
Sgt. Phil DiMartino, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email, the theft was “definitely an unfortunate situation” and said a detective was in touch with Keller.
“Each case is worked on an individual basis, and there are always a multitude of factors that go into the investigative process,” DiMartino said. “Our investigators aim for accuracy, and at times, it can make the process seem slow. I understand how this can be frustrating to victims of crime in our community.”
“We do not want there to be a perception that there is nothing happening behind the scenes, because many times there is, and the public is not always made aware of that piece,” he said.
“It’s ruining my life”
Keller has since posted surveillance video of the theft on Facebook and scoured posts for clues to her Dodge Durango’s location. She just wants her vehicle back.
“I really think it’s some sort of negligence (by police), because if you guys would have at least shown up, I think that they wouldn’t have came back,” Keller said. “You guys could have towed my car or anything, and this would have been prevented.”
Keller said she realizes that on its own, the theft of her vehicle is not the largest investigation Kansas City police are dealing with, but she believes her Durango has been used in other crimes based on posts she’s seen on social media and reports others have made to her.
One video she linked to her SUV showed a group attempting to steal another vehicle, and another showed a successful theft, she said. One person reached out to her directly and reported that her vehicle had been involved in a hit-and-run. A friend reported that she had spotted the vehicle speeding in the Westport area.
Because she doesn’t have a vehicle and can’t get her kids to school, the children have gone to live with their father for now. Police gave her an email address to submit her footage to, and she’s been frustrated by the lack of communication about her case.
“It’s ruining my life, and the police are like, ‘You just need to stop calling us and be patient,’” she said.
Durango in a cornfield?
For a few days, Keller could track the Durango’s location and mileage and watched as the odometer ticked up by around 3,000 miles.
Eventually, the location settled in a cornfield near Hardin, about an hour east of Kansas City. She made trips out to that location, couldn’t find the vehicle and is convinced that the tracker was tampered with.
“It’s eating me up,” she said. “I just want to get my car, and they need to be punished. This is absolutely ridiculous.”
