UPDATE | Nov. 4, 4:36 p.m. — The Arvada Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed one of the vehicles, the black 2009 Mazda CX-9, was recovered Wednesday night in the 11000 block of West 14th Avenue. It's not clear if any of the couples belongings were still inside.
No arrests have been made. The dark green 2003 Subaru Forester has not been found.
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ARVADA, Colo. — A Colorado couple says they had both of their cars filled with belongings stolen as they were preparing to move across the country.
Shelly and Mike Morrison were looking forward to moving to Georgia so they could be close to their granddaughter.
The Morrisons sold their house and packed up their belongings, but thieves got to them before they could make the drive. They were staying with family in Arvada and had their cars parked in front of the house.
When Mike Morrison woke up Saturday morning, his brother-in-law told him their cars were gone. At first, Morrison thought it was a joke, but he looked out of the window and felt sick to his stomach.
"I had my clothes in there, my whole wardrobe is in there, some sentimental value things," Mike Morrison said.
After viewing video from a neighbor's surveillance camera, he believes the vehicles were stolen Saturday morning between 4:48 a.m. and 6 a.m. The couple filed a report with the Arvada Police Department, but the vehicles have yet to be recovered.
The Denver metro area saw a significant increase in motor vehicle thefts thefts in 2020 compared with 2018 and 2019. According to the Metropolitan Denver Auto Theft Task Force, vehicle thefts have increased more than 110% in the Denver metro area from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021.
"When the pandemic hit, we had everybody staying at home. All the cars are in the parking lot, it’s like going to a used car lot and saying I want those cars, and the thieves apparently didn’t get the stay-at-home order," said Commander Mike Greenwell with the Metro Denver Auto Theft Task Force.
The Morrisons provided a description of their stolen vehicles. They're asking people to be on the lookout for a dark green 2003 Subaru Forester with license plate number 130KDR and a black 2009 Mazda CX-9 with license plate number 154KQM. The Subaru has a topper, damage on the driver's side door and a sticker that says Snook Inn.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Arvada Police Department at (720) 898-6650.
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