Woman's Car Stolen From Streeterville Garage, And Security Says It's Happened Before
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A parking garage downtown has been the target of multiple break-ins and car thefts.
CBS 2's Asal Rezaei spoke to one victim who's afraid her car may be gone for good.
The victim said, when she went to get her car from a parking garage in Streeterville, it was gone. Building security said it's not the first time this has happened.
Surveillance video shows it took the car thieves about 45 seconds to steal the car from the garage.
Melissa Green, who has residential parking in the garage, said she didn't find out her car was even gone until a week later.
"My first thought was I must be crazy, I must have parked on a different floor, because there's no way my car is stolen. That doesn't make any sense," she said.
Turns out Green isn't crazy, and her car is in fact stolen.
It happened last Friday at about 6 a.m., surveillance footage showing a first masked suspect approaching the passenger side, and then handing something off to a second suspect. Within 10 seconds, he's inside the car. Moments later they drive away.
"At this point, I don't know where the car could be. Maybe if I had gotten to it that day, I would have been able to file the police report faster," Green said.
Green didn't realize her car was gone until a week later. She said she wishes security was able to get to her sooner.
"So, apparently, I may not have updated my new tags when I bought the car in 2018. So they said that they ran the plate against the residents in the building, and it didn't turn up that there was any resident. So my building didn't feel the need to inform any of the residents that anything happened," Green said.
Building security guards said there have been recent car break-ins and thefts in the garage, but could not comment on how they're working to prevent them in the future.
So, for now, Green is taking that part in her own hands.
"How do cars get taken with a keyless entry and understand what it is these criminals are doing these days, but then I thought how can I better protect myself? So I am going to have a tracker, for next time," she said.
Green said she'll also be investing in a steering wheel lock in hopes of deterring car thieves in the future.
Chicago police are still looking for the woman's car.
We reached out to the garage and building management, but have not heard back.
