Car theft in the surrounding campus area has been rising in recent months. Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State University
When Keaton Crouch’s neighbor knocked on her door explaining he had just witnessed Crouch’s car being stolen, she was in shock. The Columbus Division of Police, who have seen an increase in Kia and Hyundai auto thefts in Columbus, were not as surprised.
Crouch, a fourth-year in communication, is not alone. Columbus has seen an increase in car robberies and thefts from the self-proclaimed “Kia Boys” on social media, targeting cars in the off-campus area after their initial outbreak in Milwaukee, she said.
“You can search ‘Real Kia Boys’ on like any platform. You can find them on Instagram, on Tik Tok. They are on YouTube. There are tutorials about how to do it all like how to rig the car and the steering wheel with a USB charger,” Crouch said.
Theft of Kia and Hyundai models that use a customary key insert has become prominent, university spokesperson Dan Hedman said in an email. The Columbus Division of Police have echoed this idea as the city and the rest of the Midwest deal with an increase of thefts of the two car models by teenagers this year, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Ohio State’s Department of Public Safety sent a notice on Aug. 9 to campus parking permit owners about the increase in Hyundai and Kia thefts and posted a warning online, according to Hedman, but students who have cars off-campus without a permit received no direct warning. Vehicular theft is the most common crime in the off-campus area, with 292 thefts reported July 26- Aug. 25, according to the university’s Community Crime Map.
According to 10TV article, Columbus Police reported 398 Hyundais and Kias stolen from July 27 to Aug. 17.
Crouch said when she went to auto-shops in Columbus in the second or third week of June that her car couldn’t be worked on until September or October because of the overflow of Hyundais and Kias.
Shilo Lottes, a second-year in athletic training and a witness of a separate off-campus incident in August, said she saw young males breaking into a Hyundai Sante Fe’s window with what looked like a PCP pipe. Lottes said she quickly snapped a photo of one of the perpetrators entering the vehicle through the window.
”I kind of froze up at first, but then I got a picture of them jumping into the car. I waited a few seconds, then all of a sudden, the car started and they drove away,” Lottes said. “I also think, considering how this took place in broad daylight, it seemed like they clearly didn’t care all that much about being caught.”
Olivia Schaffer, a fourth-year in public health, said her 2020 Hyundai Elantra also was stolen in broad daylight near her off-campus home. Schaffer said it is not uncommon for these cars to be found, after being told by Columbus Police that many thieves take the car for a “joyride” and dump it once it runs out of gas.
However, Schaffer said she also had trouble finding an auto shop to fix her broken window and ignition, and the perpetrators stole some items that were in her car.
“They took the little bit of cash I had in there,” Schaffer said. “They stole my tanning lotion for some reason. They stole one of my scrapers. They also took my Bad Day Jar that was in my back seat, and I hadn’t opened it yet.”
Schaffer said the ‘Bad Day Jar’ was a collection of positive notes and messages written by members of her Greek sorority that members were meant to read on a rough day.
“Our Behind Happy Faces Committee put on an event where everyone goes around and writes something that could help you feel better or something they admire about you,” Schaffer said. “You could take it home and open it if you needed something positive to read. I hadn’t needed to read it yet, but it is kind of disappointing because now I’ll never know what people said.”
According to the Department of Safety, drivers should purchase an anti-theft steering wheel lock, locking all doors to the vehicle, parking in well-lit areas and not leaving any valuables inside the car.
Aside from re-purchasing stolen items and now taking more precautions, victims have had to deal with lengthy insurance claims and auto shop wait times. However, Crouch said she received little-to-no information if any of the perpetrators were found or are being sought out.
“I really hope the university is aware of what is happening and takes precautions. I know that Campus Block Watch goes around at night, and they have put up off-campus lighting,” Schaffer said. “I don’t know if adding cameras attached to those would help or having Block Watch during the day too. It sounds kind of silly, but my car got stolen in broad daylight.”
