Julia MacDonald, 33, was on the verge of leaving South Philadelphia for Florida when her car was stolen on Saturday morning, setting back her plans and causing significant distress.
MacDonald discovered her car missing when she woke up on Saturday. Surveillance footage captured a group of thieves breaking into the vehicle around 4 a.m. and driving away. According to MacDonald, the thieves used a drill to access the car and then reprogrammed it.
"My whole world has been flipped upside down," MacDonald told ABC 6. "Now, I'm carless and we're staying in an Airbnb. This has cost me thousands of dollars."
After the theft, MacDonald used her AirPods' location feature to track down some of her belongings. Surveillance footage later showed the thieves dumping many of her possessions on a street corner. With assistance from neighbors, she was able to recover some items, but she hopes to retrieve sentimental possessions, including a jewelry box containing items belonging to her late grandmother.
Philadelphia police later located the stolen vehicle, but MacDonald reported it was no longer drivable. She and her father are currently staying in an Airbnb while awaiting the resolution of their insurance claim.
"For someone to come and take it...five minutes... my whole life in that vehicle...it's infuriating," MacDonald told NBC 10. "Nike sneakers or a nutribullet...things I worked out in or drank out of, fine. But the things that are owed to me, I do not deserve this."
Despite the incident, MacDonald expressed gratitude for community support and has filed a police report, urging anyone with information to come forward.
Philadelphia has seen an overall reduction in crime, with violent crimes decreasing by approximately 3.5 percent and property crimes by 8.5 percent compared to 2025, according to Philadelphia Police Department statistics. However, auto theft saw an increase in August, with 201 incidents recorded between August 17 and August 23. Deputy Commissioner Myesha Massey recently stated that the city has record low crime rates and is committed to maintaining community safety.