Help me identify make/model of car used by THIEF

[Bolster]

What kind of car/make/model is this, can you identify it?

The thief in this car drove beside my wife while she was fueling at a local ARCO station, and while her back was turned (about 2 yards away, on the other side of the car) opened her passenger door, stole her purse, and took off. The theft took about 3 seconds, start to finish. The ARCO station gave me their security video, but it doesn't have resolution for license plate ID, or fine details.

My wife's purse contained credit cards and keys (no cash!! and no cell phone). By the time she was able to track down the CC phone # and call to cancel (what, 30 15 minutes later?), the thieves had already run to Home Depot and charged $600. All the other charges they attempted (there were many) were AFTER the cards were cancelled.

Since home keys were in the purse, as well as spare keys to our other cars, their logical next move is to visit our home and our other cars and steal them. We have installed locking bars on the steering wheels until we can get the car locks changed. I have already changed the house locks. But I am wondering, what kind of car is this? I wonder what kind of car I'm looking for to pay a visit...if they are dumb enough to use the same car. Which they might be.

The police are not interested. They would not even take a report in person. And since the license plate is not readable on the video, chances are the police will do nothing, so it's up to me to be on the lookout for this car (and of course change or lock down everything). At any rate, if you can help identify this car, that would be great. Thanks!

[Bolster]

Two more photos:

[Bolster]

Here's a shot of the thief exiting the vehicle to steal my wife's purse...

[mongo1958]

What kind of car/make/model is this, can you identify it?

The thief in this car drove beside my wife while she was fueling at a local ARCO station, and while her back was turned (about 2 yards away, on the other side of the car) opened her passenger door, stole her purse, and took off. The theft took about 3 seconds, start to finish. The ARCO station gave me their security video, but it doesn't have resolution for license plate ID, or fine details.

My wife's purse contained credit cards and keys (no cash!! and no cell phone). By the time she was able to track down the CC phone # and call to cancel (what, 30 minutes later?), the thieves had already run to Home Depot and charged $600. All the other charges they attempted (there were many) were AFTER the cards were cancelled.

Since home keys were in the purse, as well as spare keys to our other cars, their logical next move is to visit our home and our other cars and steal them. We have installed locking bars on the steering wheels until we can get the car locks changed. I have already changed the house locks. But I am wondering, what kind of car is this? I wonder what kind of car I'm looking for to pay a visit...if they are dumb enough to use the same car. Which they might be.

The police are not interested. They would not even take a report in person. And since the license plate is not readable on the video, chances are the police will do nothing, so it's up to me to be on the lookout for this car (and of course change or lock down everything). At any rate, if you can help identify this car, that would be great. Thanks!

Looks like a Ford Escape but I could be wrong.

[Mushroom]

Looks a lot like a Jeep - maybe a Jeep Cherokee or Compass. Leaning more towards Cherokee.

[JSumm]

Yeah, first thing I saw was the newer Jeep Cherokee.

[TkoK83Spy]

Yep, definitely a jeep

[Bolster]

Thanks guys!!! Much appreciated. Photo of 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk for comparison, surely looks like a match to me:

[weeping minora]

Jeep it is.

Unfortunately, CalyFRNia has become quite the haven for activities such as this. I never get into my vehicle without immediately locking the doors, even before starting my engine. You just never know out in the wild west.

Hopefully the charges were made on credit and I hope you are able to recover what you can from this despicable behavior. Unfortunately, usually it isn't much. I'm sorry for your headache.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Our neighbor down the street has the same Jeep, same color…hope you find the low life scumbags

[MacLaren]

Looks a lot like a Jeep - maybe a Jeep Cherokee or Compass. Leaning more towards Cherokee.

+1

[TkoK83Spy]

I'd take these photos right over to my nearest Jeep dealership if I were you, they may be able to figure out the exact year and model, particular trim package.

[mongo1958]

Glad you got it sorted out, good luck tracking them down. If you find them, call the cops, don't confront them on your own.

[James Y]

Hope they catch (and prosecute) the lowlifes, and that everything turns out right for you and your wife.

Jim

[jwbnyc]

Maybe there’s a way to enhance the license plate? Somebody must do that for a living besides the NSA? Photo restoration services maybe? Or computer recovery people? This sucks. I can’t believe the police don’t have that capability.

[benben]

Yep it’s a Cherokee, not a Grand Cherokee, we have one in our shop right now.

[Bolster]

Jeep it is.

Unfortunately, CalyFRNia has become quite the haven for activities such as this. I never get into my vehicle without immediately locking the doors, even before starting my engine. You just never know out in the wild west.

Hopefully the charges were made on credit and I hope you are able to recover what you can from this despicable behavior. Unfortunately, usually it isn't much. I'm sorry for your headache.

Following up: Yes, agree re: CalyFRNia as an increasingly comfortable and safe haven for crime. In the theft that happened to my wife today, the car of thieves was newer and fancier than the car my wife drove. So in this case, the criminals appear to be doing better financially than the victims, thankyouverymuch. Crime pays!

Agree about locking doors. Oddly, my wife's car automatically unlocks all doors if you get out the driver's side. Mine doesn't do that, so that caught me by surprise (I don't drive her car). The timing of the thieves was exquisite; they showed up during the few seconds it takes to enter your PIN and click "no" to "Do you want a car wash with that?" So they know when you have to attend to the pump and hit you while you are fending off ARCO's upsell.

My wife happened to have $1 in her purse at the time of the theft, and her debit card and cell phone in her hand. AFAIK, the $600 purchased nearly immediately with her CC at the nearby Home Depot is not charged to her. I think credit cards are protected from this sort of fraud. But I feel bad for whomever has to foot that bill...these guys got $600 of tools or whatever that they'll flip at a swap meet or pawn shop.

I asked how not charging the victim was possible, and my wife explained that the CC company would likely tell Home Depot that they didn't follow standard CC procedures (what are those? I don't know) and would reject the charge. So basically the theft from my wife turns into a theft from Home Depot. I like Home Depot and feel bad about that, so I need to go buy some more tools from them! (Always looking for a justification, now I have a moral one, cool!)

What will be costly is re-keying three cars and four houses. Wife happened to be carrying keys to several other houses at the time for work-related purposes.

For me, somewhat nerve-wracking waiting for a Jeep Cherokee to show up and try the doors to our house and cars. They know where we live.

Glad you got it sorted out, good luck tracking them down. If you find them, call the cops, don't confront them on your own.

What, I have all these nice pointy implements with exquisite edges and I can't use any of them? J/K

Hope they catch (and prosecute) the lowlifes, and that everything turns out right for you and your wife.

Jim

I don't think anybody is looking for them, other than me, and I don't have a license plate, so...I think it's a dead end. I wanted help with the make/model ID to (1) watch for it around our house if they visit with the stolen keys; and (2) inform the police, but they are not following up with us. AFAIK, the police didn't even show up to view the video from ARCO.

Again, thanks for all the helpful advice and support from the forum. You guys are great.

[RustyIron]

Again, thanks for all the helpful advice and support from the forum. You guys are great.

Total bummer. But to be objective, the outcome wasn't all that bad. Your wife walked away from a sketchy situation unscathed. There's some inconvenience, and the financial loss is probably manageable... unless your wife rocks a handbag from Louis V. or Jimmy Choo. But if your wife carries one of those fancy-pants bags, you can afford to buy her all new stuff.

I wish I had a solution. What seems to be the most satisfying would land you in jail, and really wouldn't be all that satisfying at all. The second best solution might be a night out to dinner and a bowl of ice cream. That would certainly cheer me up.

[troutinCO]

Uggg that sucks!!..... About the auto-unlock, look in the vehicle owners manual and see if you can shut it off. My Frontier did that and I put a stop to it. I felt it is a safety/security thing for basically the exact situation your wife experienced. I want the doors to stay locked until I am ready to exit at which time I will manually unlock only my door.

[mongo1958]

You could hit all the pawn shops in the area looking for "NEW" items with HD labels. That would be a possibility that could render results. I would also add security cameras around the house.