Trend of thefts of Kia and Hyundai cars

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - It took just one minute for someone to take Rachel Jackson's car. She had her keys, but left her car unlocked when she brought her kids inside after a trip to the laundromat. When she went back out to the car with her boyfriend to unload the laundry, they saw someone drive off in the car.

"We had everything ripped away from us and all in a matter of a minute or a minute and thirty seconds, that’s how long I was not in the car," said Aaron Fuller T, Jackson's boyfriend. "We had literally just gotten the kids out the car."

Her 2018 Kia Optima is gone and she hasn't heard back from the police about its whereabouts.

This is just one car in a series of recent thefts in the Springfield area. On Thursday, July 8, the Springfield Police Department posted on their Facebook page saying 30 cars were stolen from June 15- July 6. They said many of these were Kia or Hyundai vehicles.

"It looks like there have been some people who have sued Kia and Hyundai because of this security flaw," said Jackson. "That’s something I am currently trying to look into and see if there's any way I can get any sort of help from them."

Jackson and her 3 and 4-year-old children have not returned home since the incident occurred. Jackson is afraid that she was followed and that is how the thieves knew exactly when to take her car.

The Springfield and Decatur Police Departments listed tips to prevent vehicle theft on their Facebook pages. These included: using a steering wheel locking device, parking in well-lit areas, and making sure your doors are always locked.