Valet gave couple's car to a thief

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- A Saturday evening date at Joe's Crab Shack was ruined when a California couple learned that a valet parking service had given away their car, CBS Los Angeles reports.

"We gave the [valet] the ticket and the five dollars and they walked away thinking they're gonna go get our car. A couple minutes later the valet came up to us, we don't know how tell you this, but we gave your car away," said victim Josh Gelle.

"Our first reaction was 'Where's the hidden camera?,'" Gelle said.

Gelle's girlfriend, Jodi Abadie, pulled out a cell phone and began videotaping the conversation with the valet, who was affiliated with the LAZ Parking chain, not Joe's Crab Shack.

Abadie was told that a man with an "Ohio State" tattoo was given the 2014 Mazda CX-9 even though he didn't have a valet ticket. Employees of the parking company said the valet who gave away the car had already gone home, Abadie said.

"It seemed odd that they sent home the one guy that was responsible for giving the keys away and that they didn't hold him there, until the police got there," Abadie said.

Gelle said LAZ Parking has given him a rental car but also said he should file a claim with his insurance company. But the frustrated car owner wants his car back.

"I just want to be made whole, I didn't do anything wrong here, they gave the car away," says Gelle.

In a statement to CBS Los Angeles, LAZ Parking said it's still looking into the incident.

"The safety and the service of our customers is of the utmost priority. We take this incident seriously and once we have all the facts, we will act accordingly," the company said.