Woman moves to Kentucky, has SUV stolen, hit with $1,000 bill
So much for southern hospitality. Misty Paez moved her family to Kentucky and woke up a few weeks later to find her Ford Excursion stolen. Springfield police told her the Ford was abandoned one town over. Great, right? Except the town lets a tow company charge her over $1,000 to get it back. Welcome to the neighborhood.
Kentucky’s “help” with the stolen Excursion
It all started on a quiet Monday night. Paez’s son took the trash out and froze. “Mom, where’s your car?” She ran outside. “I went and looked and it definitely was gone.” No note. No warning. Just her new driveway completely empty.
They filed a police report with Springfield PD. Then they waited. “All they could do was pray.” Next day, the call came. Officers found her stolen Ford Excursion in Strafford. The twist? They told her to figure out the details herself.
She called Strafford Police. No dice. “It goes to a voicemail that basically says it’s non-monitored line also.” She left messages all night. No answer. So she called the next morning. Repeatedly. But she always went straight to voicemail.
“I was like something’s not right.”
Highway robbery to return a stolen Excursion
Finally she got Strafford PD on the line. They admit that someone abandoned the SUV conveniently close to the police station. The police called a wrecker but didn’t bother to track Paez down. So Brines Towing still had it. Time to pay up.
Paez called. She hoped for mercy. “I’m assuming it’s gonna cost $150 or $200, maybe $250 max to go get it out.” After all, they hadn’t even had it eight hours.
But the bill? “They’re telling me that it’s over $1,000. And I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’” Her stolen Excursion had barely cooled off before it racked up a ransom.
The company owner wouldn’t go on camera but insisted the price was right for that size SUV and an after-hours call. Meanwhile, her stolen Excursion is sitting in the lot, racking up a $125 fine per day.
Police found the stolen Ford. Mission accomplished? Not quite. Paez is staring down a four-figure ransom to get it back. Kentucky may promise sweet tea and smiles, but this kind of welcome will sour you on the whole neighborhood. You can see Paez in an interview in the video embedded below:
