A gray 2014 GMC Acadia bearing New York license plate LJA8848 was reported stolen in Olean on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and police still haven't found it or the man they believe may know something about where it went. Olean police are asking anyone who spots the SUV, or recognizes a male person of interest tied to the case, to call investigators right away.
The Acadia was reported stolen on October 22, according to the Olean Police Department, as reported by Newport Dispatch. Police are searching for both the vehicle and a male person of interest connected to the theft. Anyone with information about the Acadia's whereabouts or the man's identity is asked to call the Olean Police Department's Criminal Investigations Unit at 716-376-5677.
Part of a Pattern of Vehicle Crimes in Olean
This isn't the first vehicle-related case to hit Olean in recent months. Back on September 22, police executing a search warrant recovered a large amount of stolen property, according to the same outlet's report. The Criminal Investigations Unit carried out that search around 11:30 a.m. as part of an investigation into larcenies from vehicles that had been occurring throughout the city over the preceding months.
Police said the property recovered that day belonged to more than a dozen reported victims, and the investigation was still ongoing with arrests pending at the time. Weeks before that, in August, the department said it had received multiple reports of thefts from motor vehicles over the course of a single week. Investigators at the time said suspects were pulling on door handles throughout the night, hunting for unlocked cars to steal from.
A Statewide Decline, But New York Still Ranks High
The Olean case lands amid a broader statistical picture that shows vehicle theft easing nationally. The United States recorded nearly 660,000 vehicle thefts in 2025, about 25% fewer than the year before, according to lohud.com. New York saw its own decline, with a 15% drop in reported thefts in 2025.
Even with that improvement, New York still ranked fifth nationwide among states for vehicle theft last year, with 24,206 reported cases, the outlet's report notes. The New York City metro area alone logged 27,138 thefts in 2025, placing it second among U.S. metropolitan areas. Roughly 80% of stolen vehicles nationwide are recovered within the first two days of being taken, per the same report, citing AAA data.
Whether the Acadia will turn up that quickly remains to be seen. For now, Olean police are relying on the public's eyes and ears, with the tip line standing as the fastest route to tracking down both the missing SUV and the man they're hoping someone can identify.
