Houston – Houston police are now investigating after they say the tires of an SUV were taken off at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Police filed an incident report Saturday morning after they were notified by the security guards who operate the garage.
A Houston Airports spokesperson confirms that a GMC Sierra did, in fact, have the tires removed.
“Houston Airports can confirm that on Saturday, security guards for SP+, the company that operates parking for Houston Airports, discovered all four wheels were removed from a vehicle parking on Level 6 of the Terminal C West Garage at Bush Airport. The incident was reported to the Houston Police Department. Houston Police notified the customer. Houston Airports do not know if the customer has returned from their trip.”
Houston police say they have contacted the truck’s owner.
An officer dusted for fingerprints but wasn’t able to pick up anything.
KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun reached out to Rent-A-Wheel, which leases out custom wheels, to see if this is something they would help with.
A representative said they do not enter private garages, especially in the airport, to recover their wheels.
Houston police say it doesn’t keep a record of similar occurrences, but KPRC 2 has requested copies for all previous vehicle burglaries at both Bush and Hobby Airport.
The airport spokesperson said they aren’t sure if there’s been a similar issue before.
“For context, an estimated 2.5 million parking transactions happen at Bush and Hobby airports, combined, annually. As far as Houston Airports knows, this is the first incident of its kind at any of our parking facilities, so far this year, and in recent memory,” the spokesperson said.
HOUSTON AIRPORTS FULL STATEMENT BELOW:
“Houston Airports can confirm that on Saturday, security guards for SP+ -- the company that operates parking for Houston Airports – discovered all four wheels were removed from a vehicle parking on Level 6 of the Terminal C West Garage at Bush Airport. The incident was reported to the Houston Police Department. Houston Police notified the customer. Houston Airports do not know if the customer has returned from their trip.
The parking garage, including the level where the vehicle was parked, is open to the public.
For context, an estimated 2.5 million parking transactions happen at Bush and Hobby airports, combined, annually. As far as Houston Airports knows, this is the first incident of its kind at any of our parking facilities, so far this year, and in recent memory. To confirm that data, KPRC2 needs to reach out to the Houston Police Department, which investigates these incidents.
With the understanding that the airport parking lots are not immune to criminal activity, we are saddened to learn of this incident, which unfortunately can happen anywhere.
Houston Airports constantly reviews how to better safeguard passengers’ vehicles while they are traveling. Multiple security cameras are positioned throughout all of our parking facilities which are well-lit and staffed with a private security guard service. Houston Airports works with parking operators and Houston police to deter crime. In 2022, 99% of customers used our facilities without any security issue.”