Niagara Falls Police responded to 1700 block of Whitney Avenue around 11:30am on September 9th after reports of a stolen vehicle.
Upon arrival, officers spoke to the complainant who stated that his blue 1997 Chevy Cavalier was stolen from the back of his house on Thursday night, but did not know until Friday afternoon when he was approached by a random black male on a bicycle.
The male began asking him about his yellow Chevy in the back. The complainant stated he owned it.
The male stated that he “works for a company that takes abandoned vehicles.” The complainant stated that there was an abandoned Kia in the back and asked if he took that. The male stated “no, but we took the blue Chevy.”
The complainant told the male that the Chevy was his and not abandoned. The male stated he would bring it back but never did. He also gave the complainant a fake name and number, which was discovered shortly thereafter.
The complainant stated that he had surveillance footage of a white tow truck with grey tape covering the lettering of a company name. The tow truck backed up to his vehicle and took it on Thursday night at 10:25pm.
The complainant told police that he has friends in the business and suspects he knows the location of where the vehicle is, but that it is “probably junked” by now. He told police that these guys likely go around and steal abandoned vehicles and then sell parts/materials and make a profit. His friends corroborated that theory based on their day-to-day activity in the industry.
There are no suspects. No further information is available at this time.
Vehicle Theft and Scrap Scheme Uncovered in Niagara Falls, Victim Sounds Alarm