Harvey Salgado's father got up to leave for work Thursday morning, but what he discovered outside the garage, kept everybody from going anywhere.
Harvey says, "He noticed his truck didn't have tires, and then that my car didn't have tires on it."
No tires, no rims, not even a bolt left on the Silverado and Mustang parked just feet away from the home where Harvey sat talking on his phone inside his room.
Harvey says, "I think it probably happened at about 2 or 2:30 in the morning. The dogs were barking, but nobody got up to check."
Harvey says the thieves must be pros at this because not even a clank of a tool was heard during the pit crew style robbery.
Investigators couldn't pick up a single finger print although marks from what could have been gloved hands are all over the vehicles as well as what looks like smears on the hood where thieves were sliding from one side to the other during the lifting and stripping of the vehicles.
Experts at Truck Techz in Harlingen say it could take only 2 or 3 people to jack up the front of the car, take the tires and leave it on cinder blocks and do the same for the back of the car all in about 10 minutes.."
Harvey says he didn’t know whether to laugh when he saw his Mustang minus tires or get angry over it. “I'd heard about it happening, but never thought I would be one of the victims. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry actually."
The cost of all that the thieves took is no laughing matter.
"We lost probably $7,000 on each car."
A price the thieves were obviously keen to since, according to Harvey, they were watching the place for a while.
"About 2 weeks ago before this happened, I was leaving the house early in the morning and noticed a car parked at the end of the driveway, then my friend drove in and that car took off. They may have been spotting out the area."
Harvey's family and their neighbors are now watching out for the night crawlers looking to strike again.
They’ve started a neighborhood watch to keep their tires from disappearing again.
Irma Woolever says her husband is packing heat so, "They better not think of coming back because we're gonna get them."
Truck Techz owners say most car alarms should go off when they’re moved in this manner, especially if they have a leveling sensor.
Word to the wise, don’t ignore any alarms even if it’s a dog barking.