HOUSTON – A Cypress area family says their car disappeared, and they believe they may have been targeted as part of a social media trend that went viral at the beginning of this year.
Deputies with Harris County Sheriff’s Office said they’re urging people to be vigilant and proactive when it comes to protecting their vehicles this holiday season.
The Houston family spoke to KPRC 2′s Deven Clarke who they say knew first-hand how important that is.
“Me, my wife, and my daughter were getting up ready to go to work for the day. It was about 6:50 a.m. about to leave out the back door, my wife just happened to ask me was Joy still home?” said Jeff Houston.
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Back on Nov. 14, Jeff says he thought Joy had left for work because her 2018 Hyundai Elantra wasn’t in the driveway.
“But by the time I’m saying it, I hear her moving around upstairs, then I yelled out ‘Joy!’ She said ‘yes.’ I said ‘Where’s your car?’
Joy was home, but her car was gone.
“It felt like a dream it was one of those moments, it’s like ‘Is this happening?’” said Joy Houston.
The Houstons say they’re even more confused about how the thief was able to gain access to their vehicle, because they live in a gated community, and their vehicle couldn’t be seen from the outside street.
“Kind of unreal to process that morning,” Joy said.
At the beginning of this year, KPRC 2 did reports on a TikTok trend showing thieves targeting certain vehicles labeled “easy to steal” such as Joy’s.
As it turns out, there are Hyundai and Kia models made between 2011-2022 that don’t have electronic immobilizers which keep the vehicle from starting if a code in the key doesn’t match the code in the vehicle’s computer. This allows for theft in a matter of seconds.
“I found out that it was a trend to take Hyundai’s and Kia’s and take them for a joy ride and just crash them out after,” Joy said.
Like so many others, Joy’s car was found crashed. Hers was located about 20 minutes away on State Highway 249.
“They didn’t steal anything out of my car,” Joy said.
“They hit something with a tree because there were a lot of branches and leaves and stuff,” Jeff said.
The car was totaled.
The Houstons want others to know about free anti-theft upgrades Kia and Hyundai owners can get for their vehicles or free wheel locks.
You can call your local dealership to make an appointment. Hyundai owners can call 800-633-5151 or Kia owners call 800-333-4542.
“I also would suggest if you don’t have good insurance, get some good insurance cause if you get caught slipping...” Jeff said.
HCSO officials are still looking for the suspect in the Houston’s case. Anyone with information is asked to come forward.