NORTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The messages quickly started flying around as soon as people woke up in the Falcon Ridge neighborhood of North Huntingdon Township Friday morning.
Motion-detecting cameras mounted to people’s homes saw thieves going from one driveway to the next, testing cars to see if they were locked.
The cameras caught the thieves rummaging through any unlocked car they could find. In three cases, they stole the car itself.
“I was like, ‘Is this real?’” Taylor, a victim who did not want her last name reported, said. “I yelled to my husband, I’m like, ‘Is my car outside?’ and he’s like, ‘No.’”
Taylor first learned about the theft from a neighbor who asked her to check her camera. The feed showed the two thieves searching both cars in the driveway before hopping into her Suburban and driving away.
Altogether, they spent less than a minute on her property.
One of the three stolen cars had a GPS, and detectives were able to find all three cars in Wilkinsburg around sunrise.
In Taylor’s case – as well as another woman whose car was searched but not stolen – the thieves left the cash behind.
Taylor said the only thing missing was her car key, and the $400 she paid to have the car towed.
She said she was mad at herself. Normally, she parks the car in her garage or locks it. She said she was distracted by her kids, and one child left the other car unlocked when he went to retrieve something out of it.
She said police retrieved fingerprints from her car, giving her hope the thieves will be caught.
“It’s a little freaky to see people after the fact, knowing I was sleeping and that was going on and I didn’t even hear it or notice,” she said.
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