SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When the first mechanic at a Midas in Scottsdale showed up for work Friday morning, he knew right away that something was off.
"Everything is missing," said Enrique Milo.
Milo has been with the Midas shop on 90th St. in Scottsdale for nearly three decades. It was his first application out of school.
But on Friday morning, the place where he's spent his whole career turned into a crime scene.
Mechanic equipment, tools, even two customer vehicles were stolen from the shop overnight.
"They knew exactly what machines were the most expensive machines," said Lisa McFarren, still stunned by the heist.
McFarren is the General Manager at the Midas, which is independently owned.
She estimates the loss is more than $100,000.
"I think there were several people," she explained. "With the amount of this that they took. They knew our hours of operation."
She suspects the thieves came in sometime after midnight and spent several hours loading up the vehicles they’d eventually steal. As she showed 12News around the ransacked shop, we could see the seats of one of the stolen vans ripped out and strewn on the floor.
Plus, they knew exactly where to break in through the back garage. McFarren showed a triangular hole cut through the garage door right in the spot where the garage door buttons were located.
"All you had to do is reach through and press," she said.
The stolen cars and equipment is another blow to the shop. McFarren said they had a flood earlier this year, and they’ve had a lot of crews coming and going while remodeling. But the remodel also meant her security and surveillance systems were down while this heist happened.
"It was an unfortunate circumstance from an unfortunate circumstance, so it does feel a little personal," she explained.
Insurance can help cover some of the loss, but it all has a ripple effect.
"I’ve got a son at home, a fiancé battling cancer," McFarren said. "It’s a lot. I’ve been trying to hold it all together."
She also feels for her staff – who use their own personal tools.
"I have nine children and every tool I bought in 27 years is gone," Milo said.
"They have families to feed and they can’t feed them," McFarren added, tearing up. "Myself as well. And now we’re out of work."
As of Friday afternoon, Scottsdale police are still investigating what happened and haven't made any arrests.
"I don’t know why this happened," McFarren said. "I don’t understand it. But it’s hurt us tremendously."
She's hoping for community support during this time. They put together a fundraiser for their mechanics to recover some of the losses from the stolen tools. Her hope is to replace what they can as quickly as they can so they can get back to work.
Silent Witness:
Arizona's Silent Witness program allows people to send in tips and share information about crimes happening within their local communities.
The program shares unsolved felony case information in multiple ways, including TV, radio and social media.
Anyone who has information on a crime or recognizes a suspect described by the program is asked to call 480-948-6377, go to the program's website online or download the Silent Witness app to provide a tip. The identity of anyone who submits a tip is kept anonymous.
Calls to Silent Witness are answered 24/7 by a live person and submitted tips are accepted at all times. Submitted tips are then sent to the detective(s) in charge of the specific case.
Individuals who submit tips that lead to an arrest or indictment in the case can get a reward of up to $1,000.
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