Austin police are investigating three vehicle thefts after they say teenagers girls met men on MySpace and Quest phone chat lines and stole their vehicles.
An arrest affidavit states that a girl known as “Abby” began chatting with a man who would later become a victim of auto theft. The man agreed online to pick "Abby" up near at Reagan High School last Saturday evening.
Police say “Abby” is 17 years old, and her real name is Abigail Salazar. According to an arrest affidavit, Salazar and two other girls all got into the man's white Chevy Impala that evening, and went for a ride.
Austin police say the victim drove to an Exxon on Ed Bluestein after Salazar asked him to buy her something to drink.
“He exited the vehicle, leaving his keys inside the vehicle with the three females. Once he walked inside the store, Abigail got out of the passenger seat, got into the driver seat, and drove off with his vehicle,” said Austin Police Sergeant Keith Bazzle.
The affidavit states Salazar called him at 3 a.m., saying he would never see his vehicle again. She later sent him a text message that read, "Good luck finding your car, we burned it up, and pushed it into the river."
Salazar was arrested for theft after the victim picked her out of a line up, and Exxon surveillance camera confirmed the victim’s story.
Police have not yet arrested an 18-year-old they think was involved. Detectives say she helped Salazar steal from other victims using similar tactics.
“Let's meet up. Let's hook up, and when a male goes to hook up with them, they steal their vehicle,” said Sgt. Bazzle.
Police say the teenagers met the victims through the Quest phone chat line on at least two other occasions, and stole their vehicles when the men left them unattended.
“We are asking that people out there use common sense; common sense and good judgment. If you meet someone online obviously you are not going to want to leave them with your personal belongings or your vehicle while it's running, and walk out somewhere,” said Sgt. Bazzle.
Austin police have not identified the third teenager involved with the theft.
