On Friday, May 28, 2021, a 1999 Acura Integra was stolen in Berkeley, California. On Sunday afternoon on May 30, 2021, the bad guys abandoned the car in Oakland, California. Before they left, the driver removed the catalytic converter.
I heard the electric saw from the tail end of the catalytic converter theft and later checked my Wyze Cam v3. The entire video is 22 minutes long, out of which I made a five-minute clip.
I posted information about the car on Nextdoor.com and Reddit and was able to locate the owner, who coincidentally lived less than a mile from me, within an hour. She met the police here and was able to reclaim her car and avoid any towing and storage charges.
In initially trying to find the owner, I found a receipt in the back seat with some guy’s name and telephone number on it. I called him and he told me that his truck had been stolen earlier in May from a West Oakland auto repair shop and was still missing. Apparently, this auto theft was not just a one-off event.
Abandoned Stolen Acura and Catalytic Converter Theft (Condensed)
