SUV stolen from Mayor Jacobs' driveway found
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Orange County Sheriff's Office on Thursday recovered a vehicle that was stolen from the home of Mayor Teresa Jacobs earlier this week.
"Acting on a tip, OCSO Auto Theft detectives located the stolen vehicle belonging to Mayor Jacobs' husband Bruce. The Honda Pilot was recovered in the Tildenville area of Orange County this afternoon," says Jane Watrel, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson. "The case remains active and open." Watrel added that there are no suspects in custody.
The thieves were caught on surveillance cameras stealing the SUV. "It was from a system my husband has in the front yard, so when he showed it to me, I was amazed at how casual the guy is just walking up to the car," said Mayor Jacobs on Wednesday.
In the video, you can see the car starting up. One suspect runs and gets into the front passenger seat, they hit reverse and drive off. "My husband endeavors to lock that door every day and it doesn't appear that it was locked. He might have been a little too far when he hit that thing. I'll double-check it two to three times."
Despite the theft, Jacobs is still able to joke about it. "I thought it would turn up really quickly, like on the side of the road. Many people are speculating it might be in a county retention pond, which would seem appropriate wouldn't it."
Deputies say a radar detector, a company laptop, and briefcase were also taken. Those items have not been recovered.
"Just lock your cars at night. Lock your doors and windows. We used to live in a world where we didn't have to do this, but obviously now we do," Jacobs said.
Anyone with information on this case should call the Orange County Sheriff's Office.