Jake Beals spent his Monday morning towing a Yahama Vino 125 scooter that was reported stolen out of Chehalis. It was the first call of the day at Triple J Towing’s Vancouver location, but there were sure to be more.
In April, Triple J Towing impounded 47 stolen vehicles at its three Clark County lots. Beals said that’s about double the calls compared with this time last year, and he knows other tow operators in the county are seeing a similar trend. The most common stolen vehicles the company has recovered lately are Ford pickups and Subarus, he said.
Last year, 2,829 vehicles were reported stolen in Clark County, according to data from the Washington State Patrol. In the first three months of this year, 1,150 vehicles were stolen in the county, which is the third highest number in the state, behind King and Pierce counties.
Although the spike in stolen vehicles means more business for Triple J and its competitors, Beals wishes it wasn’t the case.