Frat initiation, gang initiation, scavenger hunt. Those were my thoughts.
She should make sure the airbag is still there in the steering wheel. It could be they stole multiple airbags with the owner’s manuals so that they could keep track of airbags by make and model.
I wonder how many times they took manuals (and something else?) from unlocked cars whose owners haven’t yet noticed.
I agree that this may be a scavanger hunt prank. That’s why nothing else was stollen.
VIN# from the manual? You don’t need to break into a car and steal the manual to get the VIN#. Some cars have the VIN# in plain sight in the corner of the windscreen!
A) They wanted the wheels but they need the locked lug nut I.D.
B) They locked the keys in their (identical) car and hoped the book would suggest a way to get in without breaking their window.
C) They couldn’t remember how to unlock their own glove box.
D) They broke in for ordinary reasons but never read one before, so took it.
E) They thought possession of an Owner’s Manual proved ownership.
F) They saw some dog-eared pages but couldn’t locate the sexy passage.
A few years back there was a group of teenagers selling items they didn’t yet have on ebay. If the item sold they would go to Walmart and steal it. I think this may be the scenario here. I don’t know how you could go back and check without envolving the ebay folks but if this was a common problem in her city then a pattern of owners manual offerings from a seller in that area would be a clue.
Would someone break a passenger window glass to collect 15 bucks on ebay? No doubt! Some would do it just for the fun of it.
Amy, has there been any follow-up attempt to contact you? This could be a kidnapping.
This definitley sounds like a frat thing, either initiation or random prank. It wouldn’t have been the first time a scavenger hunt initiation list had an item that most frat initiates, or frat guys in general, would resort to theft to get.
Amy,
I?m sorry for the late reply but I?ve been researching the criminal mind by staying home on Saturday nights and watching ?Cops?. Now, feeling highly competent in channeling the thoughts of the manual mugger, I have a theory that I believe will be valuable here?
The thief was caught red-handed while rifling through your car looking for valuables, your ID information or a key code (all of which they may have made off with). Their excuse to whomever caught them was that it was their car and they just couldn?t remember where they?d put their manual and they needed it to consult the maintenance schedule. Being highly skilled at concocting cockamamie counterfeit confessions, the thief convinced their catcher that there was nothing to worry about. They thanked them profusely for their concern and both the thief and the person who caught them went on their separate ways.
Now that leaves the question ?Why weren?t the cops called??
Well, there are several scenarios that would explain that?
- The cockamamie counterfeit confession was so convincing that the innocent bystander bought it hook, line and sinker and just went about their business, feeling so good for having questioned the suspicious activity.
- Or maybe it was the cops who discovered the crime in progress and just didn?t want to write a report on it because?
a. They thought the cockamamie counterfeit confession plausible, or at least was so creative and well-acted that they had to award some credibility to it AND
i. They were off duty and on their way home with a very special date
ii. It was near the end of their shift
iii. It was donut time
iv. It was one of their friends
I hope that you have the credit card cancelled and watch closely for symptoms of ID theft. Also check with the dealer to see if there could have been anything in the manual, such as the valet key or key code that could be used to steal your car in the future. Good luck to you and congratulations for stumping Tom and Ray!
Rustycannon
I not only witnessed I photographed… a car the thief break in a new Lexus in front of my home (Printed out clear Photo’s of thief and there own stolen Jag gave them to police) he took the owners manual envelope packet he removed something from the packet maybe the manual or Key info ect then tossed the packet with tire info ect in bush’s weird. …next time I will phone first then take pics my mistake… bad guys got away but with out car thanks to my choice words when I yelled at him from the trunk area
My neighbor had her car and her parents car broken into on the Thanksgiving weekend in the middle of the night from their carport. My wife heard your item on Nov 1 and I did some research. It is most likely that the VIN is being stolen and applied to hot cars. Here is a link describing this from Auto-Theft.info: http://www.auto-theft.info/VINs.htm
I used the wrong link - here is a more precise link:
http://www.auto-theft.info/VIN-switching.htm
I object to this. In elementary school, I was in an autistic friend’s Circle of Friends, and I was required to research the mental disorder. It is EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY rare for an autistic person to have a compulsion/skill to do things against the law, as they most of the time know what is right and wrong, or they are taught to remember. They remember these laws/rules as they have very good memories.
I found this post extremely offensive.
This could be a prescribed item to be stolen to prove gangworthyness. It requires stealth, research, and blind stupidity
For the record- lest I offend a mensa member- I read the previous replies.
I found this-
2. Don’t leave valet key (in owner manual) in vehicle
Newer cars were manufactured with a valet key which will give full operation of the vehicle but not grant access to the truck or glove box. You can find these in the back of the owner manual. Thieves can break in and use this key without having the primary key.