'We didn't think it would happen to us': Vehicles stolen while owners vacationed in Alaska

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What was supposed to be a once-in-a lifetime vacation for a group of people from southwestern Ontario, turned into a disaster when they landed back in Toronto.

In early June, the group mostly from the Exeter, Ont. area, parked their vehicles in a gated parking lot at the Holiday Inn on Dixon Road near Pearson airport, boarded a plane in Toronto, flew to Vancouver, then a train ride to Anchorage to board a cruise ship to sail through Alaska for a week.

While on the trip, one couple got a notification from their brand new vehicle’s security system that the vehicle had been moved.

“We first got an alert a couple of days earlier from OnStar. We called the hotel and they verified that the truck was still there. We also had an Airtag in the vehicle and could confirm that it was still in the parking lot,” Joanne Janzen told CTV News. “When we got our second alert, our first reaction was that it was another false alarm, but then it was confirmed as OnStar could no longer track it. “

Janzen went on to say, the tracker was found dumped out behind a different hotel in the area and added, “There really was nothing we could do except to do the police reports and follow up with the hotel. This was a new vehicle that I had maybe been in 10 times.”

Knowing another couple’s vehicle had been stolen, Brett and Roseanne Lavier thought they better check in on their vehicle when they landed back in Vancouver at the end of the cruise.

Sure enough, upon checking the vehicle’s GPS system through an app, it showed their trip to the hotel parking lot on June 3, followed by an additional trip of 8km on June 10 at 2:25 a.m., when they were in Alaska. From there, the Laviers were told by Toronto police the GPS was likely disabled.

They were able to stay the night at another hotel while their insurance company booked them a rental car to get home.

“We didn’t think it would happen to us, but we have heard on the news about the rash of cars stolen in the GTA... next time, we will make alternative arrangements and never leave a vehicle unattended in Toronto, especially near the airport,” said Roseanne.

Another traveller who didn’t want to be identified, had his vehicle heavily damaged but was still able to drive it home.

He said, “There was no warning from the hotel that cars were being stolen. We believed the hotel parking lot was secure.”

CTV News spoke with Obeid Dadarkar, the guest services manager at the hotel where the vehicles were stolen from and damaged.

He said, “This is something which is happening not just in our hotel, in all hotels in the airport strip. We were in touch with police and any footage that we get, we always upload it in their website.”

When asked by CTV News about how the parking lot is managed, Dadarkar said, “We have lighting we have security cameras we do have gated parking... when you enter you can take a ticket to enter, anyone can park in the parking, anyone can enter,” he said, noting that it is not a valet lot. The vehicle owner parks and takes their keys with them.

“It’s very unfortunate that it happened to three guests in this one group,” said Dadarkar. “When your car is stationed for 15 days it’s easily identified…. I have a steering lock for my car… maybe use that as extra protection.”

“We felt secure leaving our car in a gated parking lot at the Holiday Inn. We would never have left it there if we knew how many vehicles were being stolen,” said Janzen.

Luckily the group was all from the same area, so those who had carpooled with the victims of theft and the victims themselves, were able to find rides home with others.

In April, Toronto police announced the recovery of 500 stolen vehicles and dozens of charges following an investigation dubbed ‘Project Stallion.’

At the time, police said 119 people had been taken into custody and were facing a combined 314 charges.

All of the vehicles recovered as part of ‘Project Stallion’ were found in the GTA, though approximately 30 of them were located in shipping containers bound for the Port of Montreal.

“Toronto police do not take these crimes lightly and Project Stallion is proof of that. For the residents of 22 and 23 Divisions I want to assure you that this project is ongoing and that this issue will continue to be addressed in the community,” Supt. Rob Taverner said during a news conference on April 26, 2023.

The Holiday Inn where the vehicles were taken from is in the 23 Division.

— With files from CTV News Toronto