Rise in car thefts causes concern in Mason community

Akshay Vadlamani | The Chronicle

There is an unsettling trend in Mason, and it is not the latest social media challenge. The city has seen a concerning uptick in car thefts, affecting residents from teachers to homeowners, and prompting increased vigilance throughout the community. 

Mason Police Officer Aaron Shaffer, who has served the department for 20 years, confirms this rise is not isolated to Mason alone.

“We’ve had an increase in stolen vehicles, and that’s not just in the city of Mason, that includes Deerfield Township, Warren County, West Chester, those areas,” Shaffer said. “Typically what they do is steal a vehicle or two, and then go around to other jurisdictions, other cities, to steal more cars. Normally it’s a group of three to four individuals … they go from driveway to driveway, pulling car handles and seeing if they get lucky enough to find one with the keys in it.”

For Mason High School (MHS) teacher Curt Bly, the statistics became reality when his truck disappeared from his driveway last October. Rather than waiting passively after reporting the theft, Bly took matters into his own hands, using information from local flock cameras, which track license plates throughout the city, to trace his vehicle to Dayton.

“I go out to leave for the day, to come to school in the morning, and my truck’s not in the driveway,” Bly said. “I basically triangulated those cameras, and I searched those neighborhoods in Dayton as systematically as I could. It took me about four hours, but I found my truck.”

Mason resident Harish Kandregula experienced an even more brazen theft when thieves entered his home through an unlocked patio door, making off with not just his car but creating a sense of violation in his own home. After finding his keys missing, he learned his BMW 535 GT had been taken from the driveway. Though police eventually recovered the vehicle, it had sustained significant damage. 

“I came down in the morning, I saw that all the keys were missing,” Kandregula said. “All the interior seating was ripped, they took off the radio and the windshield was broken.”

These incidents have sparked increased awareness among MHS’s younger residents, with many turning to technology to stay informed about local crime. Senior Avaneesh Konda, who follows car-related developments closely, has observed the community’s digital response to the rise in thefts.

“I have the Ring app on my phone, and I always get notifications about break-ins and car robberies,” Konda said. “These past few months especially, I’ve definitely noticed an increase.”

The impact of car theft extends far beyond the immediate loss of property, creating ripple effects throughout victims’ daily lives and shaking their sense of security. Both Bly and Shaffer said these incidents have changed residents’ routines and perspectives on safety.

“It’s not just the fact that the item’s been stolen from you that you worked hard for, but it’s everything else that follows and disrupts your life,” Shaffer explained. “If you don’t have another means of transportation, how are you going to get to work, or how are you going to get to school?”

This experience has fundamentally changed Bly’s daily habits. Despite living in what he considers a safe area, he said he acknowledges that there is no place that is completely safe. 

“I check my car and my truck every night – it’s the last thing I do before I go to bed at night,” Bly said. 

As the community continues to grapple with this trend, law enforcement and residents are working together to combat the issue through both prevention and awareness. Shaffer said he maintains an optimistic outlook about the role of advancing technology in deterring future thefts.

“We want all our citizens here in the city of Mason, when they come home, to feel [a sigh of relief] because they know that they’re safe and that we’re out there and we’re here to protect and serve them,” Shaffer said. “Technology is helping us. Manufacturers are adding additional security features into the cars … maybe eventually stolen vehicles and thefts, in general, will start to decrease.”

Kandregula said he echoes this sentiment of vigilance and has implemented and informed others of his own security measures to prevent incidents like this from occurring again.

“I installed camera systems, security cameras around the house, as well as glass-breaking sensors,” Kandregula said. “Lock the car and if possible, install a dash camera, or put an Apple [Air] tag, or some kind of tracking device in the car.”

Konda said that despite the uncertainty of car robberies, the community has come together in response to combat them.

“I definitely see the community supporting each other for this cause, just to help each other out,” Konda said. “Whenever someone gets their car broken into, they always send out warning messages saying to be careful, so I definitely see the community supporting each other.”