Another woman shares story of car being stolen from south St. Louis County gas station

ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOV) -- Only News 4 is hearing from yet another woman left carless while stopping for gas in South County.

Her sedan is not the only thing the thief got away with.

After our story aired last week of the woman whose car was stolen at a gas station in south St. Louis county on February 27, another victim reached out to us saying her story is nearly identical.

After dropping her son off at school on Friday, February 3, Krysten Vondracek stopped to get gas at the gas station on the corner of Union and Bayless in south St. Louis County.

Her 2019 Chrysler, along with her phone, laptop and wallet, were all gone.

“No sooner than I turned around to put my card in the gas pump, that car pulled up beside me and jumped into the passenger side of my car and took off,” Vondracek says.

Vondracek says she thinks it was the same people that stole the other woman’s car because both women had money sent from their Cash App to the same name.

However, County police would not confirm if these cases are linked.

“I don’t feel like any area of St. Louis is really safe anymore,” Vondracek says.

Vondracek was shocked for something like that to happen at a crowded gas station just after 8 a.m.

Before dumping her phone and computer, the thieves sent themselves money from her Cash App and Venmo accounts.

“Me and my husband work hard for everything we have,” Vondracek says. “I have three children. We both work. Most of the time, 50 or 60 hours a week.”

News 4 looked into the number of vehicles stolen in the police department’s Affton-Southwest/3rd Precinct:

*Through March 15, 2023

Officer Adrian Washington says these thefts at gas stations are happening more often than you might think.

“Lock your vehicle,” Officer Washington says. “Lock your car if you’re getting out to get gas. Lock the car. That is happening where people are jumping into the car, whether it be on the passenger side or the driver side, when you’re distracted getting gas, and they take off with your vehicle.”

Vondracek is looking for answers on the people who did this and is willing to press charges if they’re caught.

Because they stole her wallet and ID, Vondracek moved into a different home just to be safe.

“I would wake up and I would be afraid to go back to sleep because I was worried they were going to try to come to my house, and my children are there,” Vondracek says. “That added a whole other level of anxiety.”

News 4 asked the gas station for a copy of the surveillance video.

The manager told us she couldn’t give it to us, but also said their recordings only go back two weeks. After that, it records over old footage.

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