A MORNINGSIDE grandfather who had his car stolen last Thursday is looking on the bright side of his experience and has commended police for their swift recovery of his trusty Toyota Tazz within an hour of him reporting the car missing.
Ken McFarlane had parked his metallic blue Tazz on Gordon Road, just after ten on Thursday morning and went into an internet cafe to send an email. “When I came out at 10.40am my vehicle was gone. It magically disappeared as if it was never there. For a second I cross questioned myself and had to ask myself: did I park here? I realised immediately it had been stolen because I only park in one spot under a tree. I am a realist so wasn’t surprised, you read about this happening all over the papers.”
McFarlane rushed to ask the new car monitor if he saw or heard anything as there was no evidence of glass or anything left on the road. “He looked at me and asked, what car?, before running off to get a tip from another driver who was leaving.
I am very security savvy. My car is 15 years old and has a factory gear lock, an imobiliser, and fuel cut-off after 45 seconds and the alarm didn’t go off. I don’t know how it is possible that the monitor in red did not notice the event,” he added.
McFarlane recalls thinking the faster he reported the car missing to police, the more likely they were to find it, if at all. He quickly walked home a few blocks away to report the incident.
All the 71-year-old grandfather could think about was how he was going to fetch his grandchildren an hour later and was relieved when alternate arrangements were made.
“Within seconds my details were taken and Berea SAPS were notified to dispatch officers to take my statement. Within 20 minutes of reporting my vehicle stolen, W/O Sookoham and Sgt Nair had located my vehicle abandoned in Umlazi totally stripped of all contents. Five minutes later Sgt Dennis and Cst Erasmus of Berea SAPS came to assist me. I am extremely pleased with their work, prompt attention and politeness in assisting me. They are a credit to the uniform they wear and the SAPS.”
McFarlane’s car is still held at the pound until the paperwork is done and an insurance assessor has a look at the vehicle. Police managed to find some tow rope, a baton, squeegee and McFarlane’s emergency and medical contact details in the vehicle. “I haven’t seen the car yet but I am remaining positive and hope we will get it before the end of the month. While I don’t mind walking, because I get to see more around me, the main inconvenience is that we aren’t able to fetch our grandchildren from school,” he said.
