[Editor's Note: Just as we were getting ready to publish this, a new twist emerged. Maria wrote that she was contacted last night by another person by telephone demanding that she pay $1,000 for the return of her car at an agreed-upon meeting place. She contacted police soon afterwards. They took a report. Maria's insurance does not cover theft.]
A reader, Maria, is stuck in kind of missing car purgatory. Maria (she asked that we not use her last name) is a single mom and music teacher at a local school who recently moved to West Philly. Her 11-year-old daughter started school this fall, so last Tuesday, the first week of school, was filled with the normal excitement and everything flowed as it should, Maria wrote in an email. After picking up her daughter after school Maria parked her charcoal gray 2012 Toyota Corolla on the corner of 44th and Osage, right by her apartment, a “great parking spot,” Maria notes.
“I had parked at 3:30 p.m. last Tues. afternoon. My car was missing Wednesday a.m. at 7:30 a.m. No signs were posted, however, PGW had placed barricades on the corner of 44th and Osage where I was parked,” she wrote.
Maria reported it to the police, combed the neighborhood streets and also called four independent towing companies but no one seemed to know what had happened to her car.
On Thursday evening, Maria received two phone calls from a restricted number. An unknown man left a voice message that went as follows:
“Maria…I am calling in regard to your vehicle. I am going to call back again very soon. I hope you pick [it] up and if you don’t, well, who gives a [expletive]. Have a good evening.”
The phone call left Maria worried for her and her daughter’s safety and she reported the calls to the police who told her that, “although serious in nature, they would not trace the call or investigate since the person did not actually say they were going to kill me,” writes Maria.
Sunday afternoon Maria learned that more than a dozen cars were towed from her neighborhood. The cars were relocated within a six block radius since there was some work going on on the streets. She says she called the police, the Philadelphia Parking Authority and local towing companies to no avail. She drove, walked, biked around trying to find her car. No one seems to know what the procedure is when this occurs. Earlier this week, she took the day off work to physically look in every local towing storage lot.
“This is beyond bizarre…,” Maria writes. “Maybe my car was towed and taken to the chop shop. At least I would have closure. As of today, my car is still in stolen status.”
Maria’s insurance company will not help her either, she writes. “That is a whole other story…”
“Does anyone do their job anymore? Are there any competent people who care anymore?” Maria would appreciate any insights.
