DENVER — Like most teenagers, Logan Bader was excited to get his driver's license and purchase his very first car. But a car thief had other plans and denied that rite of passage for the Denver teen.
Logan finally got his driver's license on his 16th birthday, Jan. 10. He had been putting money aside for years to be able to purchase his first car.
"I was just saving all my money that I got when I was younger, from birthdays to graduations, [and babysitting jobs]," Logan said.
He purchased a 2007 Acura MDX earlier this month when he got his license.
"It felt really nice. I felt like I accomplished my goal and being able to have a car for myself," he said.
But it was all short-lived. A week after Logan purchased the car, it was stolen from outside his home in Denver's Central Park neighborhood.
"On January 19, I woke up early in the morning, because I was going to go on a run. And then my car was gone," Logan said. "I felt really bad just because I worked hard for it. And it was just gone before I even got the chance to really even use the car."
Logan said he filed a police report with the Denver Police Department.
"They put a detective on the case. But they don't like actively go out, kind of just like if they find the car, then they inform you," he said.
Logan said he was excited to finally have a car because he could visit his dad, who lives in Fort Collins.
"I needed it just to get around because my parents couldn't really take me everywhere. So it was nice that I would be able to take myself places," he added.
Logan's mother, Melissa Bader, said she was devastated when she found out what had happened.
"It was a complete nightmare when he was knocking on my door and woke me up. It was 5:30 in the morning when we discovered this," Bader said. "I didn't think it was real when he was telling me his car was gone."
"He’s such a good kid, a straight-A student, plays baseball," she added. "He worked so hard. He never spent a dime, always saved everything he got and it went into the savings for that car."
Bader said that they did not purchase theft insurance for the vehicle. They've launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help raise money to get Logan a new car. Their goal is to raise around $7,500.
If you'd like to help Logan replace his car, click here.
