Disney family's rental SUV burglarized en route to Bay Area memorial
OAKLAND, Calif. - A Missouri family's rental car was broken into outside an East Oakland fast-food restaurant while they were in the Bay Area for a memorial.
"They ran in for three to seven minutes to get three hamburgers and when they came out, the windows were smashed," said Walt Disney, a distant relative of the Mickey Mouse creator.
The break-in happened outside the In-N-Out on Oakport Street not far from Oakland International Airport at about 11 a.m. Monday.
Cell phone video from a witness shows a young man, in the rain, peeking into the family's rented Chevy Traverse. He had emerged from a white Chevy Malibu parked next to the SUV.
The man broke two windows in the SUV and gets into the Malibu. The car then takes off.
The thief stole luggage, bags, and valuables right before the family's flight back home.
"My wife’s wedding ring, family Bible," Disney said.
Also stolen were sympathy cards because the family had attended a memorial for Disney’s father-in-law.
"At the memorial, people gave sympathy cards and memorial monies to go toward my father-in-law’s life’s work, which is Medical Missions Philippines," Disney said.
The Disney family’s trip to Oakland, already fraught with emotion, made even worse.
"My wife was literally undone," he said. "She just collapsed in my arms. She started crying."
They aren't alone.
KTVU has reported extensively on car burglaries, including those of rentals near the Oakland airport. In one case, the victim was sitting inside his rental when it was broken into.
"I think it’s fair to call it an epidemic because that’s what it is. I mean, the car rental people are like ‘OK, another one,'" Disney said.
"That’s a horrible experience, whether you’re coming back home to your community here or whether you’re a guest coming here," said Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid, who represents the area around the airport.
"We’ve increased burglary suppression. We’re working with these owner operator groups for them to invest collectively into their own private security measures," Reid said.