SEATTLE — A cross-country road trip that felt like the trip of a lifetime was ruined for two recent high school grads from the East Coast. Their SUV was stolen, and it all happened in less than two hours in Seattle. The two South Carolina high school grads were taking a massive trip, and their stop in Seattle brought it to a standstill.
They spoke to KIRO 7 and shared their story, saying they parked in the area of Blanchard between 4th and 5th Avenue in the heart of Seattle. They picked that area since it was near FOB Sushi, the popular sushi place on 4th Avenue. They tried FOB Sushi and even walked around Wednesday afternoon between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. It was a sunny day, a busy area, and their vehicle was locked, but that did not stop someone from getting in and driving off.
Andrew Newton is 19 years old, and Kathryn Sanford is 18 years old, and both of them set out from South Carolina in a 2007 Grey/Silver GMC Acadia SUV and arrived in Seattle after a so-far smooth trip.
“We’re on a very big cross-country trip,” Sanford said. “We’ve been going from National Park to National Park.”
The parks allowed them to essentially camp and live out of their vehicle for the trip, saving some money and taking in more sights.
The pair had driven from Beaufort, South Carolina, to the West Coast, and then were planning to go back. The stop in Seattle ruined the trip when their SUV was stolen.
“Got some food a five-minute walk away. It was very good. Walked around Pike’s marketplace ten minutes... and it was gone,” they said.
The 2007 GMC Acadia was loaned to Newton by his grandparents. They purchased new hiking gear, had a cooler of food, and all their clothes since they were living out of the vehicle. All of it was gone when the car was stolen from the area near 4th and 5th Blanchard around 3 p.m. yesterday, according to the Seattle Police Department.
Sanford and Newton called SPD when they realized that the car had not been towed.
“It was locked, that’s the first thing our parents asked us, the car was locked, we had the keys,” they said.
Newton said the trip still had a lot of destinations ahead.
“We had 11 days left on our schedule, we were going to go to Mt Rainier, we were going to go visit her friends,” said Newton.
Seattle police confirmed officers investigated, and dispatchers suggested tracking AirPods left in the SUV with the hope of finding the car. Investigators found the AirPods’ location, but no vehicle.
Despite the incident, both realize it could have been worse.
“We could have gotten hurt, one of us could have gotten hurt, we both could have gotten in a wreck. Anything could have happened in the grand scheme of things... it is just stuff,” they say.
They now suggest everyone use something like AirTags or GPS for tracking vehicles. The road trippers also have a message for whoever swiped their vehicle. Newton admitted that he liked Seattle and the food they were able to get, but he joked, “I rate the carjackers poorly here, very poorly… enjoy it while you have it. I would like it back.”
Sanford also leveled a message to whoever stole their vehicle, “I feel bad for you, that’s what I would say.”
The couple plans to fly out of Seattle on Friday, heading back to South Carolina, unless their vehicle is recovered and returned.
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