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Social media helps track down stolen car in Milwaukee

Posted at 10:51 PM, Dec 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-11 08:43:34-05

MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee woman had her car stolen, and for 24 hours random people from throughout the city kept tabs on where the crooks were headed.

She was working out at the Planet Fitness on 27th street in Franklin Sunday when she says a group of teenagers entered the gym and took her keys from the hooks where those working out leave them.

“I started putting my keys there with faith there’s always someone scanning me in,” the woman said of the workers at the gym.

Once she reported her car stolen to Franklin Police a friend encouraged her to put it on social media, so she did anti was shared more than 700 times.

“The power of social media. I thought I would never say this but thank goodness for Facebook” she said. The shares begat tips on where her car was. For much of the day she was getting locations, pictures, even video of her car. She believes her fellow Milwaukeean’s are fed up. She says “the Milwaukee people… are just mad, they’re upset. It’s been happening all over and these are just juvenileness and they get a slap on the wrist.”

Monday evening more tips on the whereabouts of her car came in. But this time it appeared to have been abandoned and police were now on the scene. She came to the scene to retrieve her car after police processed it for evidence. She’s thankful for all the help random citizens gave her.

“They knew that you guys were on them, they knew that you were commenting and following them so they ditched the car… Shoutout to Facebook, shout out to social media it was all you guys. If it wasn’t for everyone on there this would have never happened."