0 Minutes, 1 Beer, and a Missing Car: Man Says Nephew Took Off With His Kia

What began as a late-night beer between relatives ended with a stolen car report just minutes later. According to a report from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched around 3:30 a.m. to Chesapeake after a man reported that his vehicle had just been taken from his property. The caller told deputies the car — a 2013 black Kia Forte — had been stolen roughly 10 minutes before the 911 call. When deputies arrived, the man said he and his nephew had been sitting in his truck on the property drinking a beer when the nephew began acting erratically. He told deputies the man started saying that “everyone was coming down on him” and appeared increasingly angry. The vehicle owner said he suspected his nephew may have been under the influence of drugs. The argument escalated when the property owner told the man he needed to leave the property. The nephew reportedly responded that he didn’t have to go because he was required to stay there under the terms of his probation. The man told deputies he warned his nephew that he would call police. According to the report, the nephew then walked toward the residence. A few minutes later, the property owner went inside and discovered the man was gone — and so was the car. Deputies were told the keys had been inside the residence, and the owner said he had not given permission for the vehicle to be taken. The vehicle owner also told deputies the nephew had been drinking and that his driver’s license was currently suspended. Using the information provided, deputies were able to identify the suspect through Ohio law enforcement databases. The vehicle was entered as stolen through LEADS/NCIC, and a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert was issued to surrounding agencies, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol and authorities in West Virginia, as the vehicle owner believed the suspect may have headed toward the Huntington area. Deputies noted the vehicle was not equipped with OnStar or a tracking device, though the owner said the suspect had previously been connected to the Life360 tracking app. According to the report, the owner observed the app was disabled as the suspect traveled down a nearby road and it had not been reactivated. Because the vehicle owner had difficulty writing legibly, the deputy wrote the statement for him as he dictated it. The statement was read back to him, and he confirmed it was accurate before signing it.

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