UPDATE (6/22): Kansas City, Kansas, police have found the stolen van.
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ORIGINAL STORY
Thieves stooped to a new low on Monday when they stole a meal delivery vehicle that belonged to the Don Bosco Center.
Anne Miller blames the heat. The Senior Center director for the Don Bosco Center in KC’s Columbus Park said one of her delivery drivers left a 2009 white HHR running while he dropped off a meal near 14th and Ewing. He wanted to keep the air conditioning going.
“He just ran up the stairs to hand the meal to the little elderly lady who lives there,” Miller said. “And of all days, the lady said, ‘My leg is bothering me, I don't feel good, can you put [the meal] in the refrigerator?’"
Police believe the car is still in the neighborhood.
The delivery driver was back out on Tuesday and spotted it near 12th and Ewing and again near Independence Avenue.
Miller said the white HHR is hard to miss for two reasons.
“Last week, when he was driving down the street delivering a meal, where he has gone for years, someone professional was cutting a tree down and it fell across the road, landed on the hood of his vehicle,” she explained.
The delivery driver noticed the thieves also doctored the HHR’s logo, covering it with spray paint.
Losing the car is a huge setback for the nonprofit.
“When something like this happens, I know it just puts a huge strain on what they can do and what they want to do to help people in the community,” said Ann Van Zee, who lives near the Don Bosco Center and works for another KC nonprofit.
The HHR is white and has Missouri plates WF3Y9U. Please call the KCPD TIPS hotline 816-474-8477 with any information.
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Lexi Sutter can be reached at lexi.sutter@kshb.com.
