Car stolen from repair shop found stripped in mystery lot owned by Milwaukee church
By Emily Pofahl
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — In a Milwaukee auto repair shop lot full of vehicles and full of cameras, a man in an unmarked tow truck stole a car off the business’s property Sunday. It left Diamond Buchanan, a single mom and manager at McDonald’s in Brown Deer, without a means of transportation.
Monday, Buchanan received a call from the owner at Uptop Motoring, informing her that her car was missing. She owns her car and does not have any outstanding tickets or payments. The red Nissan Murano was parked legally, on Uptop’s private property.
“What do you mean, my car is gone? My car is paid for. It was never on a note,” Buchanan said.
WISN 12 News broadcast surveillance footage showing a man in a tow truck without plates or logos taking the car.
Wednesday, Buchanan received a tip from someone who recognized the tow truck driver from the news footage.
“I guess he recognized him from the video that was on the news,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan tracked her car down to a lot owned by a church near 13th Street and Green Bay Avenue, and the questions started swirling.
She found her car stripped for parts in the lot nearly seven miles away from Uptop Motoring.
“When my car got towed, it was perfectly fine. Like, no scratches. No dents,” Buchanan said.
Her car was also parked next to another car of the same make, model, and color.
“At first, I thought they were trying to take parts off of my car and put it on the other car, but the other car was completely totaled. I don’t know what they thought they were doing,” Buchanan said.
The lot was mostly empty Wednesday, except for piles of garbage and a few other vehicles in disrepair. City property records and signage indicate that the land is owned by Mount Zion Assembly Church.
Buchanan and Milwaukee police contacted the church pastor.
“He said he had no clue of what was going on,” Buchanan said.
WISN 12 News’ attempts to reach the church for comment on Wednesday were unsuccessful. Milwaukee police have not taken the tow truck driver into custody, but are still investigating. Anyone with any additional information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at 414-935-7242 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or P3 Tips App.
Buchanan said repairs to her car will likely cost thousands of dollars. Find her GoFundMe here.
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