KOB‘s crew car was stolen while the reporter and photographer watched.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the NBC affiliate sent the crew Downtown to collect footage about a crime in the area when someone drive away with the car.
“I have a rule, that you can never be the lead of your own newscast,” news director, Michelle Donaldson said. “So this violates that rule.”
A GPS tracking system in the car helped the Hubbard-broadcasting owned station locate and recover the vehicle.
“We went to that location and recovered our own stolen vehicle,” Donaldson said.
The report says the thief was gone and the SUV was damaged.
The SUV was locked and the keys were not left inside, according to Donaldson. It is unclear how the thief got in.
“I’m relieved that our people are OK and I’m relieved that we’ve recovered our property, but I’m very angry that somebody can walk up to a parked, locked, vehicle in front of you in this city and drive it away,” she said. “It’s a helpless feeling to know you can’t do anything about it.”
The station had been doing stories on a recent spike in crimes Downtown.