BEAUMONT, Texas — What should have been a fun trip to Beaumont for an Oklahoma woman gave way to feelings of heartbreak and anger after her prized possession was stolen.
Kathy Morris and her boyfriend, Carl Crites, came to Beaumont for the Tri-City Corvette Car Show. The event is considered the biggest weekend for Corvette lovers in Southeast Texas.
Morris woke up Friday morning excited to prepare her 2011 triple black LS3 convertible for the show. The Corvette was inside a trailer that was being towed by a truck.
Her excitement quickly turned to shock when she discovered the Corvette, truck and trailer had been stolen.
"It's more shock. You feel numb,” Morris said. “I came out three times and looked. It's not here. Then I went screaming to the hotel, called the police, and got my partner out of bed and said, 'We've got problems.'"
The out-of-state woman said the Corvette was not only a custom supercar, but her pride and joy. Her initial feelings of shock and heartbreak about the theft quickly turned to anger.
"When I first came out, I did not believe what I was seeing,” Morris said. “You hear about it. It never happens to you, and it happened to me."
Cameras caught those responsible for the theft in the Holiday Inn parking lot taking the trailer with the Corvette inside. The thieves were gone in five minutes.
"And they were professional,” Crites said. “They came in. Bing, bang, boom gone. They've done this before."
Morris put years of work into the car and has filed a police report.
"I did the work myself,” Morris said. “I have four stitches in my head from the torque wrench hitting me. I cleaned the bottom of her with a toothbrush. You could eat off the bottom of that car."
After driving more than eight hours to show off the hard work, Morris and Crites will leave Beaumont empty-handed.
"Give me back my car,” Morris said. “You don't know what I've put into it. You don’t. You do not know the blood, sweat, and hours that have gone into her."
Even though Morris does not have her car, she still plans to enjoy the show.
“I'd rather be positive and move forward than live in the darkness," Morris said. "Move on. Make a bad situation better."
Morris and Crites plan to stay for the Saturday show and will hitch a ride home with other friends who made the trip from Oklahoma.
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