Sens fan gets his Dodge Ram stolen from Canadian Tire Centre parking lot

When Adam Declare left the Ottawa Senators game on Nov. 9, his 2023 Dodge Ram was nowhere to be found.

“I thought I misplaced it or parked it somewhere else,” he said.

His $80,000 truck was stolen from the Canadian Tire Centre parking lot.

“I bought it a month and a half ago,” he explained. “I hit 500 kilometres on it and it's fairly new.”

Along with his ride, his tools for work, his wife's wallet, his children's car seats and a gift for his niece for her baptism were also taken.

A look at his Dodge app shows its last location at the Canadian Tire Centre. He says his truck wasn't the only vehicle stolen that night.

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“There was another family whose truck was stolen, same year Dodge Ram,” he said. “They were looking just as much as us and found out it was gone.”

The Ottawa Police tell CTV News that officers responded to reports of a stolen Dodge Ram in the parking lot in the 1000 block of Palladium Drive. They could not confirm a second stolen vehicle.

Declare's truck is one of the latest vehicles part of the growing number of stolen high end SUVs and trucks in the country.

A report from Equite Association revealed the top ten most stolen vehicles in 2022 includes the Honda CR-V at the top of that list. The Dodge Ram is listed second.

“The incidents have increased significantly in the province. It’s up 48 per cent and Ottawa is higher than that,” said Bryan Gast, the vice president of investigative services with Equite Association.

He adds there's been a rise in vehicle thefts specifically targeting "push to start" vehicles in the country.

Gast says there are ways to protect your vehicle which includes a steering wheel lock, after market mobilizer and using a tracking device.

It's been a few days since the theft and Declare is still coming to terms knowing his car may be gone for good.

“I got a rental yesterday so I can still go to and from work and the next step now is to go through insurance to see what they can do,” he said.