Columbia woman urges people to be vigilant after two vehicles were stolen from her home in a burglary

COLUMBIA, Missouri (KMIZ)

A Columbia resident is urging other residents to take precautions after a recent break-in at her home.

Liana Vessell has lived in her house with her husband and two children for 13 years – in a neighborhood west of the University of Missouri campus.

Vessel described the night of June 24 as a normal night. Her daughter had some friends over to watch a movie, her son had gone out, and she and her husband went to bed in their upstairs bedroom. At around 2:30 a.m., she was awakened by a car backing out of her driveway.

“I peeked out the window because it happened to be right under my bed and saw my son’s car driving away,” Vessell said. “So I looked at my phone and saw it was 2:30 a.m. and was a little concerned that this was happening at that time.”

Vessell said she quickly called her son, but the call went to voicemail and she found him asleep in his bedroom. Her daughter’s door was also locked.

Vessell said as she ran down the stairs, she soon noticed her car, a BMW, also pulling out of the driveway of her Ridgeley Road home.

“I ran out the kitchen door and saw as if there was a party going on… At 2:30 a.m. I saw the headlights of three cars heading toward my house,” Vessell said.

Vessell said she immediately called police, who arrived at her home within five minutes. She soon discovered that while all the doors to her home were locked, the glass doors to her sunroom were flung open. She and her husband later discovered that the doors were locked but not properly secured. She said they have been taking precautions since the incident.

Vessell said the people who stole their cars rummaged through envelopes, opened cabinets in the house, searched Vessell’s work bag and took her wallet, which contained several credit cards and her identification. The thieves also went through a door in the kitchen, which contained two spare key fobs for the family’s vehicles.

What was most alarming for her was that the suspects were in her house without her knowledge or that of her family.

“I was petrified just knowing that all of this was happening… six minutes is really a long time,” Vessell said. “I’m more than thankful that they had already left the house and, you know, weren’t on foot and I didn’t have to come into contact with them… But it’s really scary and when you come back, they both have key fobs, one of the key fobs has a key to my house for all the outside doors.”

Linda Keown has lived in the same neighborhood since 2011. Burglaries are nothing new in the area, Keown said, and she was almost the victim of a burglary when she moved in.

“It seems like there are a few every year, some more serious than others,” Keown said. “I think the problem is that people think this is an area with people who have a lot of good stuff to steal, which is not the case at all.”

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, there were 130 burglaries in Columbia between January and May. During the same period in 2023, 151 burglaries were reported in the city.

The data also shows that 57.7% of burglaries this year occurred in an apartment or house. It also shows that 66.2% of burglaries were non-violent, with most occurring on a Wednesday between midnight and 2:59 a.m.

Vessell said she was able to locate her stolen vehicles through an app using a tracker installed in her vehicle. She said both cars and her son’s were parked at an apartment complex, along with a third vehicle that was still warm and had some of her belongings scattered around.

Vessell pointed out that her home had a security system that did not go off the night of the break-in and urged people to make the necessary adjustments in their homes and remain vigilant.

“If our security system had been armed, I have to assume they would have opened the door and it would have gone off,” Vessell said. “I think the main reason is that you can live in the best part of town, in the nicest communities, with the best neighbors, and yet unfortunately today it’s not just about someone you know trying to check that your car is unlocked… It’s just very important to be safe.”