Taken...raped...and left to die!

I've been wanting to post this since it happened, but got distracted and lazy by other things...

Dateline Friday, December 17, 2004:

I arrived at my parking garage at 8th & Chestnut Street at about 8:45 a.m. and parked my car on the 3rd Floor. Later in the day, while at work at about 2 p.m., I had to go to the bathroom. The bathrooms where I work are accessed from the lobby area on our floor and everyone who works there is issued a key to access them. Anyone is free to enter the building downstairs without showing any form of ID or going through any other checks and can then go up and down the elevators to each floor as they please. Don’t be concerned though because the bathrooms on each floor of the building are secured by lock and key.

Anyway, it was at this point I realized I did not have my keys. I thought for a minute and realized that I must have left them in the car. I thought for another minute as to whether or not I should go and get them and decided it would be ok as I’d be going to the car in just a few hours anyway and because I’m naïve.

Fast forward to 5:30pm…

I went back to the garage to pick up my car. I went up to the 3rd floor, but the car was not there. At this point I am mildly concerned, but I don’t panic because sometimes I park on the 2nd floor and every once and a while I will go to the wrong floor when I go back in the evening. So, I go down to the 2nd floor hoping to find the car. It’s not there. I then wander aimlessly around the garage – hoping (although knowing it will not happen) that I will spot the car somewhere. It’s not there. It’s not anywhere. Our brand new car which we just purchased September 7, 2004 is gone!!!

So, I go down to the garage attendant who has no idea what to do. At this point I called 911 to report the theft. This will be my 3rd call to 911 within the last 6 months, but those are stories for another post. About 10 minutes later, two blue coats walk up. I explain what happened – including my stupidity of leaving the keys in the car. They take down all of the information of what happened, the car, etc. At the same time, they tell me it doesn’t look good – which I already knew.

Fast forward again to 12:15 a.m. My phone rings…could it be? It is! They found the car. Amazingly the car seems to be in no worse shape then if it had been in an accident. At least this is what Office Milligan (badge # 3105) of the Philadelphia Police Department tells me. She said that at around 10:30 p.m. that evening, Officers Hudgens (badge # 7402) and Hall (badge #9482) found the car on the street. It was missing the tires/rims and there was some damage to the horn (most likely they were trying to get the airbag). Other than that, the car seemed in good shape.

At this point, we have already claimed the car and are waiting it to be towed to the shop. The insurance will cover everything as long as we pay the $500 deductible. And what have I learned from all of this – don’t leave the car keys in the car…it makes it much easier for the car to be stolen!