Owners hope for tips after 10 classic and collector cars are stolen from KC storage garage

By EMILY RITTMAN

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Several victims say brazen thieves stole ten classic and collector cars from a Kansas City storage facility last week.

The owners hope people who live in the Kansas City metro will keep an eye out for their stolen vehicles.

They believe the suspects broke into a midtown storage facility between Wednesday and Friday of last week and stole ten vehicles from ten different victims. Kansas City police are investigating the theft of several vehicles.

“I started to almost cry,” Diane Smith said.

She lost her lifelong friend Jack in January. Smith says before his death, Jack loved driving and customizing his silver 1997 Corvette coupe.

“Every grandchild has been pictured in it. Every grown child has been pictured in it,” Smith said. “He died and now the car has been stolen. Cars like that mean more to you personally than the monetary value.”

Another victim said his first car, a white 1970 Ford Mustang Mach1 fastback with bright red interior, was stolen during the heist. The victim, who spoke to KCTV5 News by phone, says he restored the Mustang with this dad 30 years ago. His father has since passed away and he is hopeful he can recover the car and the memories it represents.

Another victim, Tariq, spoke to KCTV5 New via Zoom. He says his burnt orange 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Convertible was also stolen from the midtown storage facility.

“I was able to purchase a classic car and while working a lot, I had not been able to enjoy it,” Tariq said.

Before he could enjoy the classic car, someone was spotted driving it around the metro.

“There have been reports on social media that people have said, ‘I’ve seen these cars at different places,’” Tariq said.

The owners are asking watchful community members to report tips to police.

“They took our Pop’s car. It can’t be replaced. We lost our Pop’s,” Smith said. “We would just like to have it back.”

Owners have been sharing photos of the stolen vehicles on social media including the Stolen KC Facebook group. According to victims, three of the ten stolen vehicles have been recovered.

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