In Milwaukee, Beverly Perry’s 2021 Kia Rio vanished from the alley near 50th and Capitol sometime between Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Now, she’s watching her car show up all over town like it joined a criminal sightseeing tour.

When Perry first noticed the car missing, she didn’t hold back how caught off guard she felt. “I was shocked.” in her mind, she had done everything right. Perry locked it up with a steel club. She installed an anti-theft device. She also trusted her relatively quiet neighborhood after years of living there. None of it stopped the thieves.

They didn’t smash a window. Instead, they broke the door handle clean off and drove away without leaving a shard of glass behind. 

Perry filed a police report and then turned to Facebook. Within hours, someone sent her a video of her stolen Kia helping steal another vehicle just blocks away

“It’s really upsetting, because I know they’re close by,” she said.

Her post started gaining attention. People began spotting the same vibrant blue Kia in different corners of Milwaukee. Perry and her friends rushed to each location and called the non-emergency police line. But every time, the thieves slipped away before officers arrived.

The car hasn’t just wrecked her peace of mind…it’s disrupted her livelihood. Perry works multiple jobs in Oconomowoc and Brookfield and depends on that car to get around. With no insurance to cover theft, she faces the harsh reality of replacing a car she worked hard to pay for.

“I work really hard for the things that I have…I don’t bother anybody,” she told TMJ4. “I go to work; I come home; I mind my business. And I don’t appreciate, you know, when my hard work gets desecrated.”

We’ve reported several vehicle theft cases where the owner somehow takes matters into their own hands. One driver saw their stolen car listed on Facebook Marketplace and pretended to be an interested buyer. Once they arrived to “test drive” it, they just drove away and left the thief high and dry. The owner says they did it because the police wouldn’t respond. 

Another followed a thief until they parked. Then, the owner got into the car to drive it back home…all while the suspect stood there watching.

She’s still looking to get that bright blue Kia Rio, license plate ANF-5651, back. If you see it, though, we don’t recommend playing hero; just call it in.