'Is The Joke Over?': Security Camera Catches Thief Stealing Truck
By Jamie Leary
DENVER (CBS4) - A vehicle security camera captures the moment a thief makes off with a pricey truck and sends the GPS location to the truck's owner. Nearly a week later, the truck is still missing.
"I want to see it back, but I'd rather push to find him. To find the man responsible so that this doesn't happen to anybody else," said Brandon Olson, 30.
Olson, who lives in Nebraska, is working in Denver and looking to settle here permanently. He is staying at the Radisson near Globeville, where his 2016 Ford F250 was stolen Thursday.
"I honestly thought it was a joke at first."
Olson works for his father's company, NewTech, installing natural gas lines for Excel Energy. He assumed one of the guys on his crew was playing a joke.
"I called my dad and I was like, 'Okay, is the joke over with or do I need to call the police?'"
It was no joke; that became clear when Olson opened the notification on his cell phone and he called police.
"I had an alert on my phone, that someone had entered my truck at 4:40 a.m. and then the video was there of him stealing it," said Olson as he shook his head.
Olson says he took every precaution. His car was locked and parked in a well-lit area.
Olson also installed an Owl security camera. He bought it to capture what happens in front of his vehicle, never thinking he would need the rear-facing camera. Not only did the rear-facing camera capture the thief in action, it sent the truck's last known location to Olsen, which he immediately gave to police.
According to Olson, the last known location was just south of 104th Avenue and Huron Street in Northglenn. He said he personally drove the area looking for the truck, but found nothing.
"I had hope it would be found."
Owl says the camera lost connection around 3 p.m. the next day, which likely means someone manually disconnected it.
"It's horrible, and it eats you up inside, but having a face to put on it, really helps." Said Olson.
Olson works seven days a week out of his truck and says he lost close to $11,000 of equipment. Insurance will cover his losses, Olson's hope going forward is that the thief is caught -- with or without his truck.
"I mean it was very clear watching the video and how fast he left, this clearly wasn't his first time. I think finding him and making sure it doesn't happen to someone else is important."
CBS4 has reached out to Denver Police for an update on the investigation, and we are waiting to receive a response.
Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.
