‘Blind luck’ helps Rock Island family find stolen car

Car thefts become more popular during the warm weather months. With more people outside, there can be more of a risk.

One family in Rock Island fell victim to a stolen car on July 20. But for the Cashen family, that's not where the story ends.

A normal morning had turned into nightmare scenario for the family. Their car that was parked in the street outside of their home was gone.

"We went to leave for a doctor's appointment, and it was gone," said Schell Cashen. "Your heart leaves your body."

"Shock, panic, immediate panic," said Logan Cashen, Schell's husband.

The family went straight into investigating mode, calling the police, checking the cameras and retracing steps for a pair of keys that were gone. Their baby had the keys during part of the drive home from a friend's house the day earlier. The Cashens assume that the baby threw them on the floor without the two noticing. In a keyless-entry car, that means the doors won't lock, and the car can be started.

"They come and, like, pull door handles all the time in this neighborhood. I know, like, other neighbors have caught it on camera and stuff," said Cashen. "I'm sure they just pulled ours, and it was a push-to-start, so just pushed it and they went 'woah,' it turned on."

The Cashens' experience is part of a larger trend in car thefts across the two cities. After peaking in 2023, stolen-vehicle reports have generally declined in Davenport and Rock Island.

Davenport is now seeing a slight increase this year, with 167 reports through June, compared to 259 for all of 2025, though they are still well under pace from their peak in 2023, which saw over 500 reports.

Rock Island saw 79 reports through June, putting the city on pace to finish below the 184 reported last year, which is also on pace to be below their peak in 2023 with 226 reports of car theft. In July, Rock Island saw 24 reports. The Cashens were one of those, though their story turned the corner thanks to some blind luck and an observational family member.

"When she sent me the photos, I was, like, this isn't real. This isn't real life," said Cashen of pictures her mom sent her while working as an Uber.

The subject of those pictures was a car that was identical to the car the Cashens had stolen from them about two weeks prior.

"The front bumper had a bungee cord on it because it was falling off a little bit, and so she noticed. She was, like, I know their car had a bungee cord on it, so then she called us, and we were like, yeah, that's our car," said Logan.

Now the Cashens have their car back, which is even more important now because that car is more suitable for their family that's about to grow by one more. The Cashens are changing their locks now and will surely keep better track of their extra sets of keys.

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