Police in several communities are searching for a teenager they believe was involved in several car thefts and vehicle break-ins.
Dash camera video from Wauwatosa Police squad cars shows chases involving suspected stolen vehicles on April 27 and May 4.
Police think the same 15-year old suspect was involved in both pursuits.
Investigators in Glendale said the van used in the May 4 chase was stolen from a business there earlier that day.
The teenagers inside the van are suspected of breaking into one vehicle in Menomonee Falls and five vehicles outside of Nicolet High School on the same day, investigators said.
Later in the day, Wauwatosa Police said the same stolen van led an officer on a chase.
Eventually, the people inside of the vehicle ditched it near 87th & Capitol after police used stop sticks on the tires.
Wauwatosa Police said two of the passengers were taken into custody. But one 15-year old suspect got away. They continue to search for him.
Police said the juvenile still missing does have previous arrests on his record in connection with vehicle thefts.
His case is one of many that’s troubling to Bianca Williams, who runs the ‘Stop the Stollies Campaign’ in Milwaukee. She speaks at local schools and community organizations to bring attention to the problem of stolen cars.
Williams also sank more than $10,000 of her own money into billboards in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of vehicle thefts. The billboards were recently taken down due to a lack of funding.
The problem of stolen cars hits home for Williams. Her brother is on the run and a suspect in dozens of vehicle thefts.
She thinks the cause behind the problem is a lack of available activities for local youth coupled with a lack of parental oversight.
“Your child should always be under supervision,” Williams said. “You should always know where your child is.”
“To be honest, we need to make a couple of examples out of some of the young folks out there stealing cars,” she added. “We need harsher penalties right now.”
Williams added the community must work together to have any chance of stopping the issue of stolen cars.
“I just can’t believe that with all the police, all the officials in our community, that we can’t all come together to come up with a common plan and a common goal to end all of this,” Williams said.
