AUSTIN (KXAN)—Rebecca Harrison’s Kia Sportage was stolen from her driveway, easily, for the second time in less than a year in Austin. And this time, she thinks the person who took it, left detailed notes of future targets.

Despite extensive evidence, including surveillance video, Harrison worries police may not catch the person or people responsible. That’s because some items left behind, she believes, by the person who stole the vehicle are still in it.

Security video shows a car pulling up to a home off Cottonwood Shores Drive in east Austin around 1 a.m. on April 22, according to Harrison. Two people got out of a car and quickly stole Harrison’s Kia from her driveway.

“I was dumbfounded,” Harrison said. “There’s no alarm going off. They had no trouble stealing this.”

Harrison said she got Kia’s anti-theft program installed after the first time it was stolen, but it didn’t work.

Vehicle located, items left behind

An Austin Police Department officer called Harrison on April 23, notifying her, that her car had been located.

“They [the people who stole it] had like, ripped the handle off, thrown it to the side,” Harrison said. “There’s steering column damage. The bag of sun chips are not mine, so they must have gotten hungry with all the theft.”

Harrison, joked, in lighter spirits, having dealt with this before. But this time was different when she got her vehicle back.

“There were lots of items, left in the vehicle, and some were not mine,” she said.

That’s things like men’s underwear, a laptop, a backpack and a notebook.

The notebook has hand-written details reading, “community, opportunity,”
listing neighborhoods in Georgetown, Cedar Park, Lago Vista, Manor and Buda.
And on another page, there are notes about how much certain vehicles cost.

There were also detailed notes about sales strategies. And one page including a repeated sentence written that reads, “I enjoy making twenty-five-thousand dollars a month…”

“This seems premeditated,” Harrison said. “It seems like maybe there’s kind of an organized system around how they’re finding cars to steal.”

KXAN asked APD if it would be doing any additional monitoring of neighborhoods mentioned in the alleged theft’s notes.

“APD utilizes multiple approaches to proactive policing regarding this issue with the resources available,” APD said.

“Trauma-bonded”

Some of Harrison’s belongings were found dumped next to another car that was stolen. Harrison posted that stolen car on Reddit and connected with a woman who said the car belonged to her. It was a gift from her late grandfather. The two women are now staying in touch, regarding their separate situations that brought them together.

The items in Harrison’s car remain, though they could be evidence, and Harrison told police the items are not hers.

“Nobody’s taking a look at it, except for me,” Harrison said. “My hope is that the police department would take stuff like this more seriously.”

Rise in Kia and Hyundai thefts in Austin

APD told KXAN it can’t provide too many details on Harrison’s case since it’s an active investigation. However, it did provide some information.

“The two vehicles in this case were manufactured by KIA and Hyundai,” APD said. “These vehicles are considered vulnerable and are commonly stolen by teenage children due to a social media challenge which exposed the vulnerability. Some Kia and Hyundai vehicles were manufactured with a design flaw in which the vehicles were not equipped with an engine immobilizer. This design flaw affects lower-end trim models of KIAs made between 2011-2022, and Hyundai’s made between 2008-2022.”

 This affects approximately 9 million cars worldwide, APD said.

• Hyundai’s:  Accent, Rio, and Sportage are particularly vulnerable.
• KIA’s:  Elantra, Forte, K5, Optima, Sedona, Soul, and Sorrento are also vulnerable.

According to APD, the City of Austin has seen an increase in the number of stolen vehicles over the years specifically a rise in Kia and Hyundai Thefts as shown below:

APD also said if there’s possible evidence in a stolen vehicle that is found, you should tell the police, which Harrison did.

APD said their policy dealing with evidence found in stolen vehicles, depends on the case.

“Each case has its own unique approach based on available leads and evidence,” APD said. “When it comes to finding car thieves, if usable video surveillance is available, then detectives will utilize all available means in order to identify the perpetrator.  The City of Austin prohibits the use of facial recognition technology. Stolen vehicles are commonly located by Patrol officers during their shifts. In addition, National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) provides Auto Theft unit with investigative leads by utilizing assets at their disposal.  Some vehicles are equipped with tracking capability, aiding in locating and recovery.”

According to APD, officers use special technology to track down stolen vehicles.

“It should be noted that with [the] introduction of Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers (ALPR), APD has seen a substantial increase in recovery of stolen vehicles and apprehension of perpetrators,” APD said.

There are measures in place to curb the number of thefts. In 2024 Austin City Council passed a resolution urging the federal government to recall cars that didn’t have anti-theft technology.

Kia and Hyundai models made up 10 percent of Travis County vehicles at the time, but accounted for a third of all stolen vehicles that Austin police process. Only 8% of suspects were arrested in connection to those crimes.