SAN DIEGO —
Jeep owners in Pacific Beach are on high alert after a string of thefts in the area. Several have been stolen within the past few weeks and officials believe they're winding up in Mexico. Within the past four weeks, there have been nearly 20 reported car thefts and break-ins in the PB area, many of them Jeeps.
Surveillance footage captured on Beryl Street in PB shows a car theft in progress.
“You don't want to believe it, and then it hits you,” said one woman whose 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee was stolen and asked News 8 to not include her name.
A law enforcement official told her that the Jeep was photographed heading into Mexico.
“It drove away at 4:08 and went into Mexico at 5:12,” said the woman.
Less than two miles away on Reed Avenue, Adam Fisher says his Jeep was stolen too. Just this past Saturday, Adam woke up to find his 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee gone.
"It's a frustrating procedure dealing with the police [and] insurance,” said Adam.
Adam has an assigned parking spot and an alarm system on his car, both of which didn't stop whoever stole it. He believes the person or persons responsible used sophisticated measures since his alarm never went off.
"My dog would have woken up to the alarm and she didn't wake up in the middle of the night,” said Adam.
Adam's Jeep last pinged in Otay Mesa near the border. Neither Jeep has been located.
San Diego police have confirmed an uptick in Jeep thefts. Between January and July of this year, 118 Jeeps were stolen city wide with 12 of those in Pacific Beach. 61 stolen Jeeps were stolen -three in Pacific Beach - during the same period in 2018.
An official with San Diego's Regional Auto Theft Task Force (RATT) also noted an increase.
In 2017, local authorities broke up a Jeep Wrangler theft ring involving Mexican gang members who were hacking security systems and using secret codes and duplicate keys.
RATT is working with the port authority as well as customs and border protection, warning Jeep owners to use after-market locking mechanisms.