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Woman Flees Irma, Has Her Car, Belongings Stolen In Chicago Suburb

(CBS) – She fled Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma, packed her car, and headed to Chicago. That's where she lost it all.

Evie Lafferty certainly has been kicked around in recent days. First, Hurricane Irma forced her to leave her home outside Tampa, into standstill traffic.

"It took us 48 hours to get here," she tells CBS 2's Charlie De Mar.

She ended up with family in west suburban Oak Brook, an area she thought would be safe.

"Went to sleep Sunday morning. I wake up and my car is gone," Lafferty says.

Her 2015 Dodge Journey was stolen from the driveway. Her sister's white 2014 Ford Escape also was taken.

"Now, I just lost my car and all the belongings that I took with me that I didn't want to lose," Lafferty says.

Police say the cars were stolen sometime between 10 Sunday night and 7 a.m. Monday morning. The keys were left inside, the doors unlocked.

The cars were stolen as Lafferty's mother, Betty Crowe, slept outside in her car due to a cat allergy.

"I must have really went to sleep because they stole two cars right out the driveway," Crowe says.

Lafferty is particularly distraught because of the irreplaceable items that were in her vehicle.

"There's pictures in there of my daughter when she was a baby. There's pictures in there from when I was 4 years old -- stuff I can't replace. That's all I want back."

Oak Brook police say they are working several leads to try and find these stolen cars.

 

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