Edmonton family returns from movie to jacked-up SUV without wheels

An Edmonton man is encouraging people to get locking wheel nuts on their vehicles after someone made off with two of his wheels while his wife and kids were at a movie late last week.

It happened Friday afternoon at the Manning Town Centre parking lot.

Adam Legge said his wife and kids went to a movie at around 4 p.m. When they left the theatre at around 6 p.m., their Dodge Journey was jacked up on blocks and both rear wheels were gone.

“She came out and said, ‘No, that’s not my car. That can’t be my car.’ And then she looked in the window and saw there were boxing gloves hanging off the rear-view mirror and said, ‘Yep, it’s my car,'” Legge said on Monday.

Legge came to pick up his stranded family and said he wasn’t pleased with what he saw.

“I’m looking at the car and I got really mad,” he told Global News on Monday.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm looking at the car and I got really mad," he told Global News on Monday.

“Then I’m looking at it and I said, ‘No, if I leave it the way it’s blocked, it’s going to fall over and do more damage.’ So I had to jack it up and reblock it properly.”

Watch below: An Edmonton family is less than impressed after two wheels on their SUV disappeared while they were watching a movie on the weekend. Albert Delitala has the details.

1:23 Edmonton family returns from movie to find their SUV without any wheels on it

Legge spent the weekend dealing with his insurance company and buying new wheels for the vehicle. He said he went to a local dealership, where staff told him he isn’t the only person to be hit by this type of crime in recent weeks.

“From what I’ve been told at Londonderry Dodge where I went and purchased new tires, there’s been four other vehicles in the last two weeks hit for two tires and a couple have been hit for bumpers. The same make and model.”

The Journey remained up on blocks in the north Edmonton parking lot on Monday while Legge waited for his new wheels.

“The tires are a 19-inch tire. The rims are specially made for the Journey. You can’t just go to any tire shop to buy the tires and rims so it makes it a little difficult,” he explained.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The tires are a 19-inch tire. The rims are specially made for the Journey. You can't just go to any tire shop to buy the tires and rims so it makes it a little difficult," he explained.

Legge reported the theft to police and has since purchased locking wheel nuts for his vehicle.

The Edmonton Police Service said it is aware of this type of tire theft, but added it remains an uncommon occurrence.