As she reversed, the car beeped with an alert that one of the doors was open. She got out and found it was the back door behind her grandfather.
“I said to Poppa, ‘Gosh that’s odd, why is that open?’”
He said he had heard the door open and shut almost immediately after she left, but thought it was her grabbing her bag so did not think anything of it or turn around.
“Then we realised the iPad was missing. Someone had taken it with him in the car,” she said.
She initially thought she was “losing the plot” as they searched for it.
She said she never thought something like this would happen to them in broad daylight.
“I was really shocked someone would do that with him sitting in the car. It’s a bit different if it’s a car with no one there and they break into it, but it was right behind [him].”
The windows were “completely tinted” and the iPad was wrapped up and on the floor, where she said it would not have been visible from the outside.
She believed the thief followed them from the store.
“We literally had it for half an hour, so it hadn’t been activated. It’s not like you can lock it,” she said.
She was “thankful” her grandad didn’t turn around as she feared the thief might have hurt him if he saw them.
“These days, I’m just unsure if anyone would whack him.”
Her grandad would now have to use insurance to get a new tablet.
Her advice to everyone was to “lock your car even if you’re in it”.
She said the supermarket’s cameras did not capture where they were parked and they got the serial number from Noel Leeming in case they spotted the iPad being sold online.
The incident had also been reported to the police but she was “not very hopeful” of the case being solved.
A police spokesman confirmed they had received a report but said there were “no possible lines of inquiry” in the case and it had been filed pending new information.
“If new information comes to light with possible lines of inquiry, police will reassess the file.”
He said it was “unusual” for items to be stolen when vehicles while people were in them.
Police advice was to always lock their vehicles, be alert to their surroundings, and keep valuables out of sight.
“If it can be seen, it can be a target. Locking your car if sitting in it could be an additional measure to help keep you and your property safe.”
He said to keep receipts, warranties, valuations and serial numbers in a safe place.
Anyone reporting a crime should call 111 if it is happening now, or 105 if it’s after the fact.
Cira Olivier is a social issues and breaking news reporter for NZME Bay of Plenty. She has been a journalist since 2019.
