Car For Sale End Ups Being Stolen Using Key
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A husband and wife's attempt to sell their Jeep ended with their vehicle being stolen in Miami.
Just days before the car was stolen on February 19th, the victims, Javier and Margo Coto had posted an advertisement on Craigslist to sell his Blue 2006 Jeep Wrangler.
The Cotos told Miami Police they had received several calls from an unknown man asking him for their work schedule and for a photo of the cars vehicle identification number (VIN) so he could check the history of the vehicle.
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"I gave the VIN number because he sounded very serious," said Margo Coto. She says she wanted to give the man an opportunity to run a vehicle history report to make sure the car didn't have any major problems.
The Cotos said the man who called gave them "the run around" for two days and then text them the day the car was stolen to verify the address. An hour after that text the car was gone, the couple said.
Surveillance cameras captured the car thief, who was able to sneak in through the security gate and use a key to open the door, start the engine and take off with the Jeep.
Investigators say once the thieves had the VIN number all they had to do was take that information to a car dealer and have a duplicate key made.
"There are cameras, there is a gate, I was really in shock to see that the car was stolen under these circumstances. It was just mind blowing to me," said Coto.
Police are using surveillance video to help track down the culprit.
Police said they are looking for a woman, about 5'3-5'5 in height and weighs about 150 lbs. She was last seen wearing a grey sweater.
Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.