Las Vegas police investigate series of car thefts from Reid Airport: source

David Charns
·2 min read
2

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Metro police are investigating a series of high-end vehicle thefts from the parking garages at Harry Reid International Airport, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.

The thefts involve at least 10 vehicles, including several Cadillac Escalades, from both terminal garages in mid-April.

In one theft, a person traveling out of the airport later received a text alert that his car door was opened. The vehicle’s onboard GPS was unable to locate it.

Reid Airport is one of the nation’s busiest with tens of millions of passengers traveling through it each year. That includes millions of travelers who live and work in the Las Vegas valley and who park at the airport before getting on a flight.

<em>This car sat undisturbed for 23 days. It was not until a parking employee noticed the smell that he called Metro police. (KLAS)</em>
This car sat undisturbed for 23 days. It was not until a parking employee noticed the smell that he called Metro police. (KLAS)

An 8 News Now Investigators investigation from 2022 found thieves stole dozens of cars from the airport garages over two years.

While there are cameras and license plate readers throughout the garages, the 8 News Now Investigators found in 2022 that they did not always work. The 8 News Now Investigators paged through dozens of stolen vehicle reports, finding surveillance and other security measures in place are not catching nor preventing all thefts.

Also in 2022, a woman’s body went undiscovered in a car in short-term parking the airport for nearly a month in a part of the garage just yards away from passenger pickup, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported.

The car sat undisturbed for 23 days. It was not until a parking employee noticed the smell that he called Metro police.

<em>Upgrades to cameras, including 360-degree ones, were part of a multi-year improvement project commissioners approved in 2018. (KLAS)</em>
Upgrades to cameras, including 360-degree ones, were part of a multi-year improvement project commissioners approved in 2018. (KLAS)

In a 2022 interview, a Las Vegas Metro police captain said cameras do not capture all crimes or incidents in the garages. A whistleblower said staffing shortages and automation have led to fewer patrols. The added removal of parking booths has eliminated human interaction and instinct if there is an issue, say a thief driving a stolen car and saying they lost their ticket.

Even with planned security improvements, several employees, speaking anonymously with the 8 News Now Investigators, said the cameras are unreliable and sometimes offline.

An airport spokesperson previously noted the thefts are low considering the amount of cars that park at the airport every year.

Investigative reporter David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.

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