A New Orleans man's 2023 Chevrolet Silverado was gone before he even had his morning coffee. Police say the truck was taken from the 400 block of Bolivar Street around 5:50 a.m. on Oct. 28, caught on surveillance video as two suspects drove off with it, and now investigators want the public's help putting names to the faces in that footage.
According to the New Orleans Police Department, the Silverado had been parked on the block since the morning of Oct. 28. The owner didn't realize anything was wrong until he returned around 6 p.m. that evening and found the truck missing. Investigators say surveillance video from the area recorded two suspects taking the vehicle, though the department has not released descriptions or images of the pair publicly in the information provided.
The truck has since been recovered, NOPD says, though details on when and where it turned up were not included in the department's public appeal. Police are still asking anyone who recognizes the two suspects seen in the surveillance footage to come forward, as the search for the pair continues.
A City Still Grappling With Stolen Vehicles
New Orleans has spent recent years fighting a surge in stolen cars. In the first 28 days of 2023 alone, New Orleans logged 728 auto thefts, a 118% jump over the same stretch the year before, according to wwltv.com. NOPD data cited in that report showed 162 thefts in just the final week of that window, with the overall count of theft-related incidents reaching 796.
Rafael Goyeneche of the Metropolitan Crime Commission told the outlet at the time that the city was on pace for what he called a particularly bad year for car theft, and warned that the real numbers were likely even higher — he estimated more than 100 additional stolen vehicles may never have made it into official totals because victims left the scene before officers arrived.
By later in 2023, the scale of the problem had become even clearer. Nola.com reported that 2,152 vehicles had been stolen in New Orleans by that point in the year, compared with 862 during the same period in 2022. Kias and Hyundais made up 54% of those stolen vehicles, the outlet noted, with thefts peaking at 740 in January before settling at 620 apiece in February and March.
In response to that surge, the NOPD moved to revive its bait-car program, according to the same nola.com report, aiming to lure would-be thieves into taking vehicles rigged to help police catch them in the act. Whether that program remains active or played any role in this case is not addressed in the information released about the Bolivar Street theft.
For now, the Bolivar Street case remains open, with investigators relying on surveillance footage and public tips to track down the two people seen taking the Silverado. Anyone with information has been asked to assist New Orleans police in identifying the suspects.
