A Sudbury couple is feeling heartbroken after their two vehicles were stolen from in front of their homes earlier this week.
Cyndle Chartrand and Kyle Stutt are scrambling right now to replace both the 2017 Hyundai Tuscon and 2017 RAM 1500 that were stolen sometime over night between Aug. 14-15. The vehicles were parked in front of their home on Burton Avenue, and the doors were locked, said Noella.
Chartrand's Hyundai was purchased in October 2017 and Stutt's truck was purchased in February this year.
“My boyfriend went out around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday to make sure both vehicles were locked, since there's been a lot of car break ins in the area lately,” Chartrand said. “We're guessing they were stolen overnight, as my boyfriend was up until about 11:30 p.m. and didn't hear or see anything. He got up at 6 a.m. to leave for work, and that's when he noticed both cars were gone.”
None of their neighbours heard or saw anything, either, she said.
“We live on a street with amazing neighbors,” Chartrand said. “They all came outside the morning of the incident to show us their support. We looked for debris or broken glass on the street, but there was nothing.”
While Stutt was speaking with their neighbours, Chartrand was calling Greater Sudbury Police Service. An officer took down the report and said the police would contact them for a full report.
And while Chartrand said she hadn't yet gotten that callback from police at of late Thursday morning (Aug. 16), she did receive a call from the man who works at the cemetery on Second Avenue, stating that he found stuff in the bush he believed belonged to her.
“I had paperwork in my vehicle with my contact information, which is how he got my number,” she said.
Most of her belongings were tossed out — car seats, stroller, backpack and paperwork. As for Stutt's truck and belongings, the car thieves apparently kept most of what was in there, only tossing out a few items, such as a bag and sweater.
“We've contacted our insurance company, and it's just a waiting game to see if our cars are recovered,” Chartrand said.
The loss of a vehicle for anyone would be a huge inconvenience, but Chartrand is nine months pregnant and they have three children already, so on top of the loss of transportation, there's a great deal of stress she is already dealing with.
“We've been trying to stay strong and deal with this the best way we know how,” she said. “It's heartbreaking to think that someone could do this to others, especially a family with small children.
“I've worked hard to get where I am, and to get that vehicle, and now it's gone. But I keep reminding myself that's it's only material things, as long as we're OK, that's all that matters.”
The couple was being extra cautious with their vehicles, she said. About a month ago, someone broke into Stutt's truck. He forgot to lock it, as he was going to go back into it later on, and they stole his wallet.
"That's why we've been checking to make sure our doors are locked,” she said. “We've also heard a lot of other break-ins have been happening around the area, so we've been trying to be extra careful.”
While Greater Sudbury Police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn didn't have specifics about this particular case, she said in a six-week span — from July 2 to Aug. 12 — there have been 224 thefts from vehicles and 46 stolen vehicles reported.
