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We all have a personal experience or close cohort with a car theft story. You know, the sort of situation wherein your friend emerges from a cinema to find, well, nothing. Nothing other than apoplexy regarding the empty spot where their vehicle once safely awaited its owner’s return. Well, for one Amish family, their equivalent to a harrowing grand theft auto story involves their horse and buggy and a sticky-fingered Michigan woman. Still, there’s a good chance that the thief is looking at some old-school justice. 

A Michigan woman stole a horse and buggy from an Amish couple in a Walmart parking lot

A horse and buggy like this one isn't typically the subject of a grand theft auto investigation.
Horse and buggy | David Arment via iStock

A 31-year-old woman decided to steal a ride from a Walmart parking lot on the 24th of January. That doesn’t seem like a wild development, as there are typically well over 2,000 car thefts in the United States daily.

However, this theft wasn’t your typical Walmart parking lot grand theft auto. No, the target of this theft was none other than a horse and buggy. Specifically, the thief stole an Amish family’s horse and payload from a Sturgis, Michigan parking lot. Fortunately, a vigilant truck driver described the suspect to authorities, who then apprehended her at a nearby hotel, per Fox 59.

Stealing a horse and buggy can have worse consequences than grand theft auto

Interestingly enough, the woman’s absconding with the horse and buggy could land her in much more trouble than if she had picked a waiting car. According to one of Jalopnik’s contributors, the grand-theft-horse-and-buggy (I know – worst video game ever) could result in two separate felony charges, one for stealing the horse and another for making off with the buggy.

In retrospect, the thief probably should have stuck with a more practical quarry, like an unlocked Toyota Corolla. Either way, a horse-drawn vehicle isn’t exactly the quickest or least conspicuous getaway option.

Sources: Fox 59, Jalopnik