INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Imagine taking your car to get repairs and it's stolen right out of the auto body shop.
It's a reality for Frank Fisher of Stilwell.
Fisher runs Frank's Train Shop in Overland Park and he needs his F-250 pickup truck for daily work.
"I have to take boxes for recycling into move things, and they don't fit in my car," said Fisher. "This time of year I get stuff every day."
Fisher brought his pickup truck to Johnson's Auto Body in Independence to get fixed back in February.
A few months went by and he started wondering about the progress of the work.
"I called and the phone would just ring at one in the afternoon," said Fisher, who found a surprise in his mail in July. "There was a tow notice it was sitting at KCMO tow lot."
Fisher went to get his truck and found it was stripped, had no wheels, the flashers were damaged, the steering column was punched out and part of the engine disconnected.
On top of the shock, it cost him $600 to get it out of the impound lot.
Fisher said he went half a year and never knew his truck was stolen.
The owner of Johnson's Auto Body said it was stolen a few months back, despite a disconnected battery and a security gate blocking the driveway.
Johnson said they notified the owner and the police.
An Independence officer did go out to look at the crime.
Police said the theft was not properly reported to police because officers were not given the vehicle or owner information.
Fisher said he was never called about it.
He did ask Johnson to pay for $2500 in damage. But Johnson's insurance disagrees.
"They said since you didn't have insurance on it, you should pay for it yourself," said Johnson.
Police call this a non-active case because the truck is with its owner. But they said if you do you have any information about vehicle thefts to call them at (816) 325-7300.
