‘The Cat Was the Most Surprising’ GMC Yukon Owner Lists Strange Items Left After Someone Stole It From a Fast Food Parking Lot
When Angie Waggoner’s GMC Yukon vanished from a fast-food parking lot earlier this year, she expected to lose her family SUV. Instead, she found herself unraveling a cross-county mystery that wound through a dozen Missouri cities. Ultimately, she ended up in a courtroom, facing the suspect.
Seven months after the SUV went missing, the St. Charles County woman finally has her Yukon back. But it’s what she found inside that she’ll never forget.
Waggoner reported that when police recovered her stolen Yukon in March, it had turned into something closer to a mobile pawn shop
Officers discovered about fifteen cell phones, several purses, and, most shockingly, a live cat.
She said the animal was easily the most unexpected discovery in the vehicle’s bizarre post-theft inventory.
The SUV’s odyssey didn’t end there.
Investigators later determined that the suspect, identified as Joshua Uthe, had planned to sell the $80,000 Yukon for just $9,000
Other victims also came forward after finding their stolen property mixed in with the recovered items.
One woman, Classie Hughes, told reporters she was stunned to find her name stamped on goods inside the vehicle. Proof that some thieves don’t think too far ahead.
Authorities flagged the Yukon a biohazard, as it contained human and animal waste as well as trash.
By the time Waggoner got her Yukon back, it needed way more than just a car wash
She explained that she had to gut the entire interior, replacing carpets and seats to erase both the smell and the chaos left behind.
In court, Uthe apologized and told Waggoner he’d changed his life after struggling with drug use. The judge sentenced him to a drug treatment program that could free him by December 2026. If he fails to complete the program, he faces up to 17 years in prison.
The victim said prosecutors commended her for following through on the Yukon situation when other theft victims had stopped short
She believes that may be why the thefts continued until her case. Her hope now is that both she and Uthe can move forward. She with a clean Yukon, and he with a clean slate.
