‘Just tell me this is a dead end’: N.Y. woman frustrated by investigation after car stolen at Montreal airport

A New York woman is questioning if she’ll ever fly out of Montreal again after her car was stolen from the airport parking lot and she says police aren’t doing much to help her find it.

Selma Mededovic drove to Montreal last Wednesday to fly out of Trudeau International Airport. When she returned four days later, her 2023 Toyota Highlander wasn’t there.

“The feeling was horrible,” said Mededovic, who called Montreal police for help.

When she called Toyota, the company was able to locate her Highlander and send its location to the police — but Mededovic said she felt police didn’t seem interested in finding it.

“They said, ‘Yeah, your car is somewhere in the Port.’ That’s what he said. ‘It’s in one of the containers. We don’t know which container it is, so we are not going there,'” she said.

Police have intervened at the Port of Montreal before, seizing hundreds of stolen cars.

In an email to CTV News, Montreal police said it does not comment on specific cases, but added it takes the issue of motor vehicle theft seriously.

Since then, Mededovic said she hasn’t heard from police and doubts they will do anything.

“Just tell me this is a dead end,” she said.

Selma Mededovic said she’s frustrated Montreal police haven’t done more to locate her stolen car (CTV News)According to data from the City of Montreal, around 75 cars have been stolen in the vicinity of the airport since January.

Mededovic said one of her co-workers also had his Toyota Highlander stolen last year from the same parking lot.

In a statement sent to CTV News, the Aeroports de Montreal said, “this is obviously a matter of great concern to ADM… we added patrol officers specifically assigned to the parking lots and surveillance cameras on site. Our teams keep a close watch on the premises 24/7.”

Thieves prey on long-term parking lots, said George Iny, director of the Automobile Protection Association.

Travellers are better off not taking their cars, he cautioned.

“Get a friend to drive you or use a cab or an Uber,” he said.

Mededovic said the situation has left her feeling hopeless — and leaving her to question if she will travel to Montreal ever again.