BRISTOL, Conn. — Bristol police are investigating after a Kia was stolen from an apartment complex early Sunday morning. Apartment surveillance video shows two men walking along the back the of parking lot before crouching behind another car.
A four-minute gap in surveillance video does not show the break-in but picks up as the alleged thieves pull away in Machol Monti and her husband’s Kia.
“We went up into our apartment and then the next day when he was getting ready to go to church, his car wasn't there. So it was gone. It got stolen,” said Monti.
An online trend called “The Kia Boys” documents how a security flaw in certain model Kia and Hyundai cars can be started using a USB chord. The online trend behind an increase in thefts across the country and in Connecticut.
“They break in from the back and they're just being taken for joy rides and left out in the middle of nowhere,” said Monti.
In recent months police departments across the state have been urging drivers of these susceptible models to get steering wheel locks to prevent potential thieves from stealing their cars if they break in.
In February, Kia and Hyundai announced a software update to these model cars to prevent the trend of thefts from continuing. The Associated Press reports despite the manufacture update thefts of these models continue at drastic rates.
Monti wants to warn other drivers to take those precautions and this experience will detour here from buying these brands of cars in the future.
“Yeah, we're not we're not going to be buying Kia or Hyundai anytime soon. We're staying away from it," said Monti.
Bristol Police found Monti’s car later Sunday morning abandoned in the middle of a street near Rockwell Park.
If you have any information you're asked to call Bristol Police.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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