PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A Pierce County man recovered his stolen pickup truck Tuesday after confronting a woman investigators say had paperwork that could have been used to fraudulently transfer the titles of several vehicles into her name.
Wyatt Ulsh said he and his father found his stolen Ford pickup in a parking lot off Meridian Avenue East after tracking it down themselves.
“My dad called me, and he didn’t say anything. I just heard commotion going on,” Ulsh said. “So I’m like, oh, he found the truck.”
Ulsh said it was not the first time his family has had to recover a stolen vehicle.
“It’s the second time in a year that we’ve recovered one of our vehicles, too,” he said.
According to investigators, the confrontation began around 3 p.m. Tuesday after the owners spotted the stolen truck and confronted a 33-year-old woman. Police said the woman hit another vehicle while attempting to get away.
During the investigation, deputies discovered paperwork that appeared intended to transfer vehicle titles into the woman’s name.
Body camera video captured Ulsh reacting to the discovery.
“She tried to transfer it already?” he asked a deputy.
Pierce County Deputy Carly Cappetto said investigators have encountered similar attempts involving fraudulent documents.
“We are seeing a lot of people trying to fraudulently make these documents so that they can do things such as switch titles over,” Cappetto said.
Authorities cautioned vehicle owners against confronting suspected thieves themselves.
“A lot of these thieves are armed and dangerous,” Cappetto said.
Ulsh said he is relieved to have his truck back, but that repeated vehicle thefts have left him uneasy about leaving vehicles outside his home.
“It’s kind of like PTSD at the end of the day,” Ulsh said. “Now I am going to think every time I walk out of my house and get one of my vehicles, is it going to be there?”
The 33-year-old woman was arrested and faces allegations of possession of a stolen vehicle and hit-and-run. Authorities said possible charges related to attempted fraud and the alleged title transfers are under review.