KANSAS CITY, Mo. – To say Chris Oden loves his truck is an understatement.
"It's an extension of me. It's not just a truck," the 24-year-old said.
Oden restored the 1990 GMC Suburban himself, rebuilding the transmission and tuning up the engine.
But on Tuesday morning, Oden learned he wasn't the only person who loved his truck.
"I hear it start up, I jump up and make it to the hill to watch him drive away in my truck," Oden said of the thief who stole his Suburban from his driveway at 39th and McGee.
The worst part is that this all happened on his birthday.
"People know me as 'Hey, that's Chris who drives a Suburban,' and now some other guy is driving around beating it up and not loving her like she deserves," he said.
Oden isn't the only Kansas City resident dealing with car theft. Kansas City police data shows from Oct. 15 to Nov. 14 in 2017, 334 cars were stolen.
If you look at the latest year-to-date numbers, there have been 400 more car thefts in 2017 than there were at this time in 2016.
Many of those thefts are posted on the Stolen KC Facebook group, created by David Brucker.
"The more unique the vehicle, the better success we find," he explained.
Brucker started the group and the new Got Stolen Foundation specifically to help people like Oden. In fact, Brucker said he plans to discuss his case during the "most wanted" segment of his weekly Facebook live.
"We've got 95,000 people that are out looking for your vehicle and your asset, whatever was stolen," Brucker said of the group.
Oden posted his own story on Stolen KC. He hopes he can find his happy ending, a reunion with the truck he loves.
"I'm just wondering how fast we can find it. That's what we're really hoping for here, that we can get her back to running shape and in my arms," Oden said.
