A radio-controlled car vanished from the shelves of Friendly Hobbies near Rancho Drive in Las Vegas on Oct. 25, and the store is now asking the public to help track down the person caught on video taking it. Staff say the theft happened while employees were tied up helping other shoppers.
According to KSNV, Friendly Hobbies reported the theft and posted video of the suspect on social media in hopes that someone could identify the person. Store manager Conor Cason said a customer waited until employees were busy helping others before grabbing the car and leaving. The store has asked anyone who recognizes the individual in the footage to contact either Friendly Hobbies or Las Vegas police.
A Store Built on Trust With Customers
Friendly Hobbies bills itself as the go-to destination for radio-controlled cars and trucks in Las Vegas and Henderson, according to the store's own website. That identity comes with a tradeoff that makes theft easier to pull off: the shop's merchandise is typically displayed out in the open rather than locked away. In comments tied to a separate 2025 incident at the business, owner Bryan Ward explained the store's approach, saying, “We leave our products out so that you can see them and touch them and feel them.”
That hands-on philosophy has made Friendly Hobbies a target before. In January 2025, two thieves were recorded entering the same Rancho Drive and Gowan Road location and walking off with three expensive RC cars, per FOX5 Vegas. The store offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in that case. Years earlier, in September 2018, burglars were caught on camera breaking into the family-owned shop, and one may have left behind a receipt bearing his name, according to a report from KTNV. There is no evidence tying this latest theft to either of those earlier incidents.
Part of a Broader Shoplifting Pattern
The latest theft lands amid a wider conversation about shoplifting trends in the Las Vegas area. A KSNV report from September 2025 noted that shoplifting cases had been rising locally, though arrests also climbed that year, with 1,988 recorded compared with 1,711 the year before. It's unclear whether that broader trend has any bearing on what happened at Friendly Hobbies this time.
For now, the store is relying on its own surveillance footage and the public's eyes rather than a police case update. Friendly Hobbies has not said whether the RC car has been recovered, and the store is counting on someone recognizing the person in the video to help close out the case.
