A crazy story that started at the McCurley dealership ended with three stolen cars recovered and thieves getting busted in Boardman on Halloween night.

Thieves snatched a 2018 Chevy Silverado, a black Corvette and a white Camaro in the early hours of Halloween. Pasco police, the dealership and On-Star teamed up to capture the crooks who didn't seem to understand how today's technology can work against you.

Our News Partner KNDU/KNDO filed this story and details

Reporter Rex Carlin looked into the story that spans two states and involves at least five stolen cars, a farm outside Heppner, and an in-car system that foiled the whole plan.

Police and McCurley officials say they drove to Oregon and headed west toward Portland, and for some reason decided to stop at a hotel in Boardman. But while that was happening, McCurley employees saw what had happened and called OnStar, who found the stolen vehicles right there in that hotel parking lot.

"We immediately told them to disable that truck, which they did," said Craig Cavanaugh, the general manager at McCurley Integrity Chevrolet. "They send a signal and it shuts the truck off and there's no way to start the truck or move the truck."

From there, the Boardman Police Department was called to the hotel where the stolen McCurley cars and one of the suspects were found.

"There was one suspect waiting for the others to come back," Cavanaugh said.

Since OnStar shut off the McCurley Silverado, the other suspects allegedly went to look for a trailer to steal to tow the now-inoperable Silverado, driving in two cars they allegedly stole out of Spokane. Soon, they were in a high speed chase with the Morrow County Sheriff's Office.

"As we were there to retrieve the vehicles, we were told by the Boardman Police that there was a high speed pursuit of the other suspects down in Heppner because they were caught down there on some farmers' ground trying to find a trailer that they could take to try to transport the truck into Portland," explained Cavanaugh.

The chase ended in both cars leaving the roadway, with the driver of one car - Buddy James Buoy of Portland - arrested and booked into the Umatilla County Jail, while the second driver - a female who hasn't been identified yet - was transported to a Portland hospital by Life Flight.

As far as McCurley goes, they thank that handy piece of technology that foiled these suspects' whole plan.

"Without OnStar, we would have never found these vehicles in Boardman yesterday morning."

You still have options to prevent theft if you don't have OnStar...there are alternatives out there that you can buy and install right into your car so you can track it down if it gets stolen or something happens to you on the road.

 

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