'Useless:' Michigan Woman's Car Gets Stolen. Then She Learns a Suspect Was Arrested… But Without Her Vehicle

"I have a fear he torched it somewhere and please Lord let me be wrong."

Photo by: Unsplash.com

By: Chad Swiatecki

Sep 7, 2025 at 5:00am ET

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When a woman’s car was stolen outside a Flint, Michigan, bar over the holiday weekend, she didn’t just turn to TikTok to vent. She did the legwork herself by handing the police the suspect’s name, a photo, and even surveillance footage from the bar.

But days later, her car was still missing. And the detective assigned to her case? Still on vacation.

In a series of widely shared TikTok videos, creator Anna (@h0llywoodanna) documented her mounting frustration over the Labor Day weekend, during which her 2001 Buick LeSabre was stolen. What stung most, she said, was that police appeared to deprioritize the case because of the holiday, even though the suspect had a long history of arrests and allegedly had her keys, garage opener, and home address.

“Where is my vehicle? Why aren’t there more detectives and other people doing different things?” she asked in one update, after learning the man had been arrested, but not with her vehicle in his possession.

In a post made Thursday, Anna dances joyfully to a Fleetwood Mac song, celebrating the news that her car and some of her sentimental belongings had finally been recovered. But questions remain about why it took so long for action to be taken, even after she delivered the evidence upfront.

Delayed on Holiday

Anna filed a report on Sunday morning, only to be told the process might not move forward until Tuesday due to the Labor Day holiday. When she called 911 and began spelling the suspect’s last name, the dispatcher cut her off. “Oh, I’m familiar,” she reports the operator saying.

According to Anna, the man had been out on bond for other charges, including home invasion and assaulting a police officer. She says he had at least two dozen prior misdemeanors.

Her frustration grew as days passed. At one point, she discovered via social media that the same man had allegedly robbed someone else while he was still driving her car.

Despite that tip, she said she received no updates from law enforcement until she emailed the assigned detective directly. Eventually, she said she was told the man had been arrested the night before without her car.

“And he didn’t tell me it was without my vehicle until like three hours later,” she said. “Because he’s still on vacation and doesn’t come back until Thursday.”

She likened the situation to a doctor refusing to treat a broken leg on a holiday: “You chose that career. You don’t get holidays.”

How Often Are Stolen Cars Recovered?

Anna’s car was ultimately found, and she says some of her belongings, including irreplaceable mementos from her late father and grandmother, were still inside. But she hasn’t shared how the car was located or by whom. It’s also unclear whether the suspect has been charged with the theft or if the investigation is ongoing.

The delay in recovering the vehicle, despite clear leads, raises broader questions about how seriously car theft cases are prioritized—especially during holidays or weekends.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), more than 1,020,000 vehicles were reported stolen across the U.S. in 2023, marking a 1% increase from the previous year. Of these, over 85% were eventually recovered, though 34% returned the very same day, and 45% within two days.

In 2024, thefts dropped notably to 850,708, a 17% decrease that marked the most significant single‑year decline in four decades. Still, even when recovered, not all vehicles are in a drivable condition. In many metro areas, especially near Detroit, stolen cars are commonly stripped for parts, abandoned, or, in rarer but highly publicized cases, torched.

“Roughly 15 to 20% of stolen vehicles nationwide are recovered with significant damage or evidence of tampering,” the NICB noted in a recent report.

Anna was luckier than most. Her car returned. Some of her belongings survived. But she says the burden she carried to get even that far should never have fallen solely on her shoulders.

Throughout the ordeal, Anna stressed that she wasn’t seeking vigilante justice, just accountability.

While her TikTok posts generated support from strangers across Flint, many of whom actively searched for her car, she remains troubled by how little urgency law enforcement showed, even with everything handed to them on a silver platter.

The experience left her questioning what would’ve happened had she not gone viral or had she not felt comfortable navigating the police bureaucracy.

What do you think?

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Her case may be closed, but the story leaves an open question: What happens to the cases that don’t go viral?

Motor1 reached out to Anna via direct message.