A woman’s routine trip to the gym ended in a strange recovery of her vehicle at a nearby apartment complex after she says a stranger learned her routine and waited until she was working out to steal her car.
In a video posted to TikTok by @norabic19, she says her husband purchased a brand new Honda Civic for her to celebrate their anniversary, and that someone had been observing her long enough to learn her routine and find an opportune time in her day when she was not immediately next to her keys or in view of her car to steal it.
In a voice-over, she says the theft was not random.
“The scary part is that this is someone that has been watching me,” she says. “They broke into my locker stall, they broke the lock. I thought they had taken my gym bag. Turns out we ended up finding it in one of the shower stalls intact. They didn’t take anything, it looked like they didn’t even search my bag. They knew exactly what they were going for, which was my car key.”
Because the car is newer, @norabic19 says it came equipped with a tracking feature that allowed her and her husband to locate it at a nearby apartment complex, where police were able to recover the vehicle.
“As soon as I noticed my gym bag was gone, my car was gone, I made a police report while still at the gym and my husband found the car, because we track it, and the cops were able to locate the car,” she says. “We didn’t catch anyone unfortunately, but I do believe the gym cameras did catch the person going into the car and driving off.”
She says she created her initial video to warn viewers of what kind of people are out there.
“It’s just crazy and it’s just kind of an awareness video because you never know who’s watching you,” she says.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @norabic19 via email regarding the video.
@norabic19 Someone has been watching my rooutine. Be aware of your surroundings, someone could be watching you too 🥺 #gymrat #fyp #parati #fy #gymtok #gymmotivation #gym #outdoors #stolencar #awarness #awarenessvideo @24 Hour Fitness ♬ original sound – 🌹Abby🌹
Many newer cars come with infotainment systems and tracking software that allows owners to keep tabs on where their vehicles are parked, and if they are moving from where they were left originally. Depending on the manufacturer, drivers can even set alerts to go off if their car is moved. Similarly, many companies offer devices, such as the classic LoJack, to track older vehicles.
Multiple viewers remarked upon the car’s make and model, writing that it was odd to target this particular vehicle for theft due to its perceived value.
“You know what I thought it was going to be some Porsche or BMW SUV,” one commenter wrote. “but they went through all that trouble for a Honda Civic?”
“A Honda?” another echoed. “Ughhhh people are getting desperate now got to watch out for my Toyota.”
Others recommended she have the vehicle searched for tracking devices and change her locks at home.
“Make sure they didn’t put a tracker or anything on your car!” one recommended.
“I hope you change your locks from home if they had them in the car keys,” another commenter wrote.
“Change your home locks!” a user said. “They probably took your address from your registration. See if your garage door opener is missing.”
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