Mackenzie Koch was in the parking lot of her apartment complex in Grand Prairie on Tuesday evening when she got out of her Chevy Tahoe to make sure that her apartment door was locked. She left the car running with her Golden Retriever, Riggins, inside since her apartment was only steps from her car. In that short amount of time, a man jumped into her car and took off with it, and unknowingly, with Riggins in the back seat.
“I turned around and this random man is getting in my car. I just started screaming and got behind my car,” said Koch. It became clear that the man was not going to stop, but with Koch in the way, he drove through bushes and over sidewalks to escape.
“I chased him on foot but that didn’t last very long,” Koch said. “You’re looking at your dog in the back of the car while this random man drives it away.”
She got in touch with TCU police, and they were able to identify her car on campus surveillance footage with the thief behind the wheel.
“I didn’t care about the car. I just cared about the dog,” Koch said. “Honestly, nobody in my life has slept since that dog was taken.”
Grand Prairie Police Officers R. Gray and A. Monroe found her Tahoe running, with the air conditioner on and Riggins inside, parked at a Grand Prairie gas station the next day.
“I don’t know, maybe he had a bonding moment with my dog,” Koch said of the thief. “My parents actually pulled up to [Riggins]. He was sitting shotgun in the cop’s car. He was smiling, like, ‘Where have you guys been?’”
Koch’s experience serves as a good reminder to never leave your vehicle running and unlocked, even for a few seconds. Make sure you always lock the doors. Otherwise, you’re just inviting thieves to come take your vehicle!
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