'How can they do this?': Travelers rebuke PDX parking after spike in car thefts
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A couple’s trip to Texas had a sour end last month when they discovered their only car, a 2018 Hyundai Tucson, had been stolen off the PDX Economy Lot. And they’re not the only ones.
Charlotte Kardokus and her husband are among several travelers sharing their frustration with the lack of secure parking at Portland International Airport.
“It's just like a bad dream, and we're still not sure what we're gonna do about another car at this point,” Kardokus said. “We're at an age where we don't want to get into a lot of debt. And we don't have a lot of money. So, we'll just have to take it as it comes and see what we can come up with.”
A few days later, Kardokus said she received a call from Portland police telling her they found her car and stopped the alleged thief – but the car was damaged in the process.
On Wednesday, KOIN 6 reported another couple’s story with a similar end: Their car – once parked in the airport’s Red Lot – had disappeared. After catching a Lyft home and sharing a vehicle for a week, Brandon McCaskey said Wilsonville police found his Kia at a Target with a broken window, a busted engine and drugs inside.
“They considered it a total loss,” McCaskey said.
Following that story, KOIN 6’s emails flooded with responses from those who say they are among the unlucky many, despite paying for parking they thought would be secure.
KOIN 6 pressed the Port of Portland to find out how often cars go missing on their lots. According to data from the past five years, 2022 saw a massive jump in car thefts. In fact, those numbers more than doubled.
Reports show thieves tend to target the Economy Lot. Short-term Lot thefts have dwindled down to the single digits while other lot thefts spiked. As of May 2023, the airport has recorded 54 stolen cars – more thefts than any other full year, excluding 2022.
But Port of Portland’s security concerns aren’t exclusive to stolen cars. After a trip home for Mother’s Day weekend, Joseph Thuillier and his family came back to a different surprise in his 2023 Hyundai Tucson.
“We arrived at our vehicle, and we noticed the driver seat was laying all the way back,” Thuillier said. “We're like, ‘That's kind of odd, we didn't leave it that way.’ I sat in the car, went to put the key into ignition, and the ignition was missing. It was all pulled out. All ripped apart. The fuse box area was gotten into. So obviously we realized that someone had tried to try to steal it.”
Although his car wasn’t stolen, he said the attempted break-in attempt ruined his homecoming. And when he followed up with staff, he was shocked to learn their security protocol.
“The security company told us that they're paid just to patrol Levels One, Two and Three, and that Four through Seven nobody patrols,” Thuillier said. “Nobody goes up and looks unless the Port of Portland manages to do a drive through.”
Kardokus shared the same surprise.
“How can they do this?,” she said. “Why aren't there any security cameras on the poles around there and how can people get through the gate without a parking ticket?”
KOIN 6 reached out to Port of Portland for an interview, but the company has continued to decline. Earlier this week, they said they are increasing patrols and undercover missions as well as collaborating with law enforcement to help combat theft on the property.
Yet travelers still say more needs to be done.
“We parked in that parking garage because we assumed it was going to be safer,” Thuillier said. “We found out afterwards that there's only one camera, which is at the elevators. There's no other cameras because it's not cost effective to have cameras throughout the rest of the parking garage…Needless to say, we won't ever be parking at the airport again after this.”