HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The search is on for a black Cadillac Escalade which was stolen from a car dealership.
Less than 24 hours after the SUV broke down and had to be towed in, deputies said a thief hopped in the car and stole it.
The victim, Maribel Rodriguez, can’t figure out how it happened. She said her car wasn’t drivable when she last saw it Monday night. But by Tuesday evening, the car was gone, straight from the dealership.
Its tracker was deactivated and the theft was not caught on camera.
“How did it happen? It couldn’t have been possible,” Rodriguez said.
She said she worked hard for her shiny, black Cadillac Escalade.
“Long hours of work, working and, you know, just building my business to be able to get that vehicle,” she said.
The vehicle has had problems in the more than two years she’s driven it that have required stays at the shop.
“Absolutely stopped completely. Like it was not working at all,” Rodriguez said of Monday night’s occurrence.
A tow truck loaded it up and dropped it off at Tom Peacock Cadillac off the North Freeway. She prepared for it to be there for a while.
“Previous times they have kept it for weeks,” Rodriguez said.
She wasn’t prepared, though, for a text message from a service advisor less than 24 hours later. The advisor told her a thief had stolen her Escalade.
“The vehicle could have been stolen any other time ... All of a sudden, it’s not working and somebody steals it, like, how is that possible?” she said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating and told KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry that deputies were called about an hour after Rodriguez received a text from the service advisor that a diagnostic report was still pending.
Deputies say a mechanic stepped away from working on it when an unknown man jumped into it and took off. The car’s location no longer was pinging on Rodriguez’s phone.
“I tried looking at the app, and I mean, I couldn’t find the location, so I knew it had to be an expert deactivating that,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said she is confused why the dealership didn’t have cameras that captured what happened.
“If anyone sees my vehicle, it’s a black Escalade. I’m hoping that it’s not in pieces ... All of us have to be cautious nowadays. People just don’t care,” Rodriguez said.
The dealership’s general manager spoke to KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry on the phone. He didn’t say this was a common occurrence, but says they too are frustrated.
The general manager said they do their best to protect everyone’s cars while in their care and added that he doesn’t expect any employees were involved in Rodriguez’s case.