Longtime resident Mishi Moazzen said she has never felt this unsafe in Guelph.
On Tuesday, she and her fiancé woke up without their new 2022 Dodge Ram pickup truck sitting in the driveway, taken overnight from their Auden Road home.
"I'm going crazy, I have not slept," she told GuelphToday.
She's not alone. It's become an unfortunate and eye-opening trend in the community as of late.
Guelph police said Wednesday at least nine Dodge Ram pickups have been stolen locally in the past two weeks (since Nov. 25), numbers Moazzen called "a red flag."
Police spokesperson Scott Tracey said since originally speaking to GuelphToday Wednesday afternoon for this story, another three Dodge Ram pickups have been stolen.
"All reported early (Thursday) morning," he said. "Two from the east end and one in the south end."
So, make it nine in the last two weeks.
And local vehicle thefts overall have been on the rise year-over-year.
Tracey said there have been over 200 stolen vehicles reported this year, up from the 163 reports in the same time frame in 2021.
Between Aug. 9 and 10, Guelph police reported five newer-model Dodge Rams stolen from different locations.
To some, those are merely numbers, troubling numbers, mind you.
But for Moazzen, it's more than that, being left to deal with the aftermath, with what she said are feelings of being violated on her own property.
"We have lost something that, for us, was a sign of accomplishment after years of hard work," she said. "My bedroom is literally three feet away from the end of that truck."
And it was only the Dodge Ram stolen there, not other vehicles parked.
"They knew what they were doing, they know what they wanted," Moazzen said. "By 10:30 a.m., when I called the cops back, they said another one went missing on the corner of Starwood and Grange."
Large-size pickup trucks, like Dodge Rams and Ford F-150s, are routinely on national lists for most commonly stolen vehicles.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has said stolen vehicles are "often immediately packed – with their vehicle identification numbers (VINs) still intact – and shipped abroad, where they are sold for many times their original market value."
Others are sold to unsuspecting consumers, used to commit other crimes or for joyriding.
Tracey said until those who are responsible are caught, suggesting the truck in this incident is getting the same treatment would be speculatory.
But Moazzen, alarmed by the thought of this, went around the neighbourhood to warn them.
"Everybody was shocked," she said. "My next door neighbour said he goes to work at 3:45 a.m., and he's like 'I have not even noticed it. I completely didn't even look.'"
She said many she spoke to had "no clue that something like this was going on in Guelph, especially those with trucks."
Moazzen also brought up reports of thieves using AirTags to target vehicles in the GTA.
Police services have stated in the past thieves will place tracking devices on high-end vehicles, allowing them to track the vehicle back to the owner's home.
"We don't know for sure that this happened to us, but if we go by what they say, it would make sense to me because Saturday night, we were in Toronto," she said. "(And) Tuesday morning, we woke up without a car."
AirTag use is not unheard of in Guelph. Last December, a Ford F-150 was taken from a home in the south end of the city, hours after the owner found an Apple AirTag on it.
"We suggest residents park indoors or in well-lit areas whenever possible, and take any steps to make the theft of their vehicle more difficult," Tracey said. "Employing anti-theft devices or parking other vehicles in a manner that might prevent the theft."
Other tips include to never leave a vehicle running unattended, consider a steering wheel or brake pedal lock, lock your doors and close all your windows when parked, and don't leave personal information like insurance and ownership documents in the glovebox when parked.
The theft of Moazzen's truck remains under investigation.
Police describe the 2022 Dodge Ram pickup as a crew cab style with a moon roof and a hard tonneau cover.
