Woman's Key Works, Takes Wrong Car In Mix-up

A college student who reported that his car was stolen got a surprise when he learned a woman had mistaken it for her daughter's car and taken it - using her key.

It turned out Kate Anderson of Athens became an accidental car thief when she went to pick up her daughter's car near Ohio University building. Anderson saw the nickel-gray Toyota Camry and used her daughter's key to unlock the car, start the engine and drive home - all without realizing that the car wasn't her daughter's.

So when Charlie Vansant left class a short time later, he was shocked to find an empty parking spot where he had parked his mid-1980s car. He first thought the car had been towed, but when police couldn't find a record of it, he reported it stolen.

The morning after Anderson took the car, her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn't hers. She was able to find Vansant's information on some paperwork in the car and contacted him.

Vansant says when he was contacted and told the car was in her driveway: "It sounded real fishy at first, like maybe she wanted to hold the thing for ransom".

He eventually went to the house with a police officer, where he was reunited with his car. The police has ruled the case was closed because of "mistaken car identity".

Vansant blames the car company more than the "thief". "Her key fit not only my lock, but my ignition as well - so high-five for Toyota, I guess", he says.

A Toyota spokesman says key technology wasn't as sophisticated years ago and there were only so many ways to cut a key, making it possible for such a mix-up to occur.

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