Katie and her husband were watching Bridgerton when the TV flickered, the wifi faltered and, then, minutes later, her phone rang.
'It was the tracker company we subscribed to for our Range Rover,' the mother of two explains. 'The voice said, "Can you please check on your car?"'
Katie, 39, a bookkeeper, went to peek through the curtains to the driveway where she had parked her grey Range Rover Velar in Finchley, North London.
'It was gone. Somehow the thieves had briefly disconnected our wifi, blocking the TV signal and preventing our Ring doorbell from capturing any footage - and taken our car.'
As her mind flashed back through memories her family had made with their sleek, luxury four-wheeler, Katie was nearly in tears. But if you assumed it was the Range Rover she was mourning, you'd be wrong.
Katie was most upset about losing her toddler's buggy, which was stored in the back of the car.
'The car was leased and insured, and I wasn't attached to it. But I'd pushed my Babyzen YoYo buggy around the park for hours trying to get my two sons to sleep. I'd even taken it to Disneyland. I had specially taken photos of both my boys in the buggy at the same age. Losing it felt devastating.'
It turned out the thieves also appreciated the value of Katie's pram - a celebrity favourite beloved by parents including Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen.
When the tracker company located Katie's car later that night in Haringey, about ten minutes from home, they found that only her buggy was missing.
Katie says: 'The police agreed to meet us at our car in case thieves came back. The car was undrivable - all lining ripped out as they searched for trackers - they'd stolen my beloved YoYo and children's seats.'
Many new cars have sophisticated digital trackers; a common tactic is stealing vehicles then dumping them while checking if they're monitored before reselling contents like buggies or prams instead.
The Buggy Black Market
- Buggies don't usually have serial numbers or markers making them traceable; high resale value makes them targets for thefts.
- The Metropolitan Police reported 1,500 buggies stolen between January 2021-July this year alone in London; actual numbers likely higher due underreporting.
- A former chief detective superintendent advises using cheap concealable trackers as deterrents against such thefts becoming increasingly lucrative crimes targeting parenting kits worth hundreds or thousands pounds per item sold quickly online marketplaces like eBay without detection easily evading authorities' efforts curbing illicit trade practices involving these products globally today more than ever before now continues unabatedly across various regions worldwide significantly impacting affected families economically emotionally alike everywhere they reside regardless location circumstances beyond control entirely preventable measures implemented timely manner accordingly whenever possible feasible necessary appropriate according individual needs preferences requirements expectations situations encountered faced confronted dealt handled managed addressed resolved satisfactorily successfully ultimately eventually finally conclusively effectively efficiently productively positively 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