A purple Rolls-Royce has been safely recovered after two thieves brazenly stole it from a Miami garage in broad daylight. The car held sentimental value for its owners, who went to the lengths of displaying an aerial banner offering a reward for information that could aid in its return.
The car in question was a 2016 Roll-Royce Wraith painted a very rare shade of purple. One of just six like it, the luxury coupe was particularly special to its buyer, Bob Benyo, who purchased it as an anniversary present for his wife.
She was the one driving it when the theft occurred. After picking up their children, she parked the car in the garage, and they all went inside. That’s when a silver Mercedes pulled up in front of the house, and managed to sneak into the garage.
Read: Thieves Steal 2 Rolls Royces And A Bentley From Toronto Dealership In Broad Daylight
“Police think they must have had a scanner and picked up on when we opened the door,” Benyo told NBC Miami. “How nobody walked in on them, thank God, who knows what they’re capable of maybe they’re just car thieves maybe not.”
Although the loss of the sentimentally important Wraith was troubling, the worst part of the incident was the invasion of privacy, according to Benyo.
“It’s like they were inside the main house, it’s the same thing, my kids come in and out of this door all day long,” Benyo said. “That’s the worst part, a car’s a car, even if it’s hard to replace, the fact someone was brazen enough to come inside our property with my kids home that’s the big problem.”
However, the loss of the car was also a problem, so Benyo took action. In addition to posting Lost Car posts on social media, he also turned to his own business. The president of Aerial Banners, he was able to hire one of his own pilots to fly a banner across the city offering a $5,000 reward for the return of his car, and eventually it worked.
“It was a hot tip amongst the other 140 tips that came through,” Benyo said. “It was offered for rent in a chat group on Instagram.”
Now, the car is back at home, but the toll this incident has taken on his family’s sense of safety will remain with Benyo.