Vehicle thefts on the rise at Austin's airport

Data from the Austin Police Department shows the number of vehicles stolen from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, including thefts in the parking garages, has risen this year when compared to the past five years.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Data from the Austin Police Department shows the number of vehicles stolen from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, including thefts in the parking garages, has risen this year when compared to the past five years.

KXAN reached out to APD after multiple viewers said their vehicle was stolen from one of the parking garages at the airport while they were traveling. Those viewers said their cars were eventually found in other Texas cities like Houston and Dallas.

Over the past five years, the data shows there have been 230 reports of stolen cars from the airport. Of those, 177 cars were stolen from one of the designated garages where the airport offers overnight parking for travelers.

The data in the 2023 column only shows crime statistics between January and August. In that eight month span, the number of cars stolen from ABIA almost doubles the next highest car theft year in 2022.

'Helpless and violated'

Josh Teeters is one of the unfortunate victims of car theft at the airport this year. In May, Teeters said he parked his 2021 Dodge Ram TRX in the Red Lot at ABIA before catching a flight to Miami for a work trip.

His flight was on a Saturday. On Tuesday, he received an unexpected text from his wife that the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Houston had contacted her because they found Teeters' truck three hours from where it was supposed to be.

"You shouldn't have to be concerned that your vehicle is going to be stolen when you're on a trip," Teeters said.

Teeters said a deputy found the truck sitting in a Houston ship channel with one of the windows busted out and white and blue paint around the interior. The deputy stayed with the truck until Teeters could file a report with the Lakeway police department to get his vehicle towed away from the ship channel.

When he returned home he stopped by his former parking spot in the Red Lot to find broken glass in the empty parking spot. He wants to know how his truck was stolen from a secured garage.

"I'm more disappointed with the Austin airport system, and I guess it would fall under the Austin PD," Teeters said.

He wants to know who took his truck and how they were able to do it. He's not alone. Gus Hernandez, an Austinite, said his Dodge Ram 1500 TRX was also stolen from one of the parking garages this year.

Hernandez travels regularly for work and uses the parking garage whenever he needs to fly out of Austin. He did not find out about his truck until he returned home and found another vehicle in the spot he parked. He said an ABIA Parking employee helped him search for his truck and he eventually filed a report with Austin police.

A month and a half later his truck was found in Dallas. Hernandez said he never got the truck back and told police he wanted to press charges, but he said nothing has happened in his case. Both Hernandez and Teeters said they thought the security cameras in the garage would hold some answers.

"I mean there's got to be camera footage of entering the garage and leaving the garage," Teeters said. Hernandez said he asked the airport to see the security camera footage but was told only Austin police have the authority to see it.

Security measures in parking garages

A spokesperson for the airport said it is awful for travelers to return home from a trip to find their car stolen, but they did say the number of cars stolen is very low when compared to how many cars are parked there throughout the year.

The spokesperson said in 2023 there have already been more than 1.1 million passengers using the parking lots with less than 100 thefts. That is far less than one percent of the number of cars that utilize the garage.

ABIA Parking is the contracted company in charge of overseeing the airport's parking program. Its staff monitors vehicles in the garage 24/7 and report any suspicious activity or crimes to the police, the spokesperson said. They added it is not realistic to expect ABIA Parking to be vigilant over every single vehicle at all times.

The airport is also staffed by APD 24/7, and there are security cameras in the parking garage. The airport reminds people to not leave anything valuable in their car, and to make sure it is locked. Teeters said he did all of that and still wound up a victim.

"Some organization needs to be held accountable with how much theft has been going on," Teeters argues.

History of car theft at airport

The Austin Police Department did say it investigated a car theft ring at the airport in late 2021. The department worked with Houston police and were able to make two arrests and identified accomplices.

The year of that investigation there was a total of 26 cars stolen from ABIA, according to data. The number of thefts at the airport following those arrests actually rose. In 2022, there were 41 reports of stolen vehicles and 74 stolen vehicles in the first eight months of 2023.

An APD spokesperson said there is no current investigation happening at the airport.

The police department added some safety tips for travelers who are parking their car overnight.

• Lock your car and take your keys
• Never leave your car running and unattended
• Park in well-lit area
• Do not leave valuables in car
• Keep valuables out of sight
• Utilize a wheel lock

Next steps

Teeters said he is still waiting for more fixes to his truck seven months after it was taken. Right now his insurance has already paid for $20,000 worth of damage. His advice for parking at the airport:

"Currently I'd say don't park at the airport, knowing what I now know," Teeters said.