Family’s car broken into at SLC airport, thieves use garage door opener to break into home
Jun 14, 2023, 10:07 AM | Updated: Oct 19, 2023, 9:42 am

Passengers line up to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration at the Salt Lake City International Airport on Monday, June 20, 2016. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
LEHI, Utah — A weeklong vacation for the Brown family ended on a sour note when they landed back at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
“We parked our car on level three in the covered parking garage but when we got back after our trip, we couldn’t find it. And I remember where we parked because I took a picture of the stall,” Blake Brown said.
The family asked for assistance from the airport parking attendant, who said a car matching the description was parked on the fifth floor. When they approached the vehicle, they realized it had been rummaged through.
“I saw our glove box, our center console, we didn’t have any valuables in there, they just ripped the whole car apart and it made me think why didn’t (the thieves) just take the car? What were they looking for,” Brown said.
At this point, it was around midnight and the family just wanted to get home. But when they pulled onto their street, they realized something very valuable was missing from their car.
“The last 48 hours has been the hardest 48 hours of our families lives.”
A warning from a Lehi family tonight after their car was broken into leading to a crime spree across the valley…resulting in thousand of dollars of items stolen or damaged. Full story at 10:00 @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/T2X2H7PWmX
— Ashley Moser (@AshleyMoser) June 14, 2023
“My wife looks at me and says, ‘Where is our garage door opener?’” Brown said. “Just then we see our house lit up like Christmas. All the lights were on and that’s when our hearts just sank.”
It was evident that their Lehi home was also broken into. The thieves used the garage door opener to get inside. The family believes they used the address listed on their registration in the car’s glove compartment to find their home.