Four vehicles stolen from Benton dealership Saturday night, two recovered Sunday

Four vehicles worth an estimated total of about $170,000 were stolen by a group of masked people during a Saturday night car heist at ReCar LLC automotive dealership in Benton, Missouri.

Security footage shows a group of five to six masked, hooded individuals arriving in a silver BMW at about 9:30 p.m. and parking near Begg’s Berry World, according to Joshua Overbey, who manages the store at 160 County Road 332.

The footage shows the group of suspects cutting through the glass front door and obtaining the keys to five vehicles from inside the dealership, Overbey said.

In a Facebook post, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office shared descriptions and photographs of the stolen vehicles: a 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat, a 2017 Ford Raptor, a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette and a 2018 Jeep Wrangler HEMI.

The vehicles were driven off the property and onto Interstate 55 northbound.

As of Sunday afternoon, the dealership’s website listed the price of the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor 4WD at $43,900, the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat at $37,900, and the 2018 Jeep Wrangler SRT HEMI Rubicon 4WD at $50,900.

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was not listed on the website, was valued at about $37,781 by Kelley Blue Book. Overbey said the Corvette was owned by an employee who had parked it at the dealership and stored the keys inside.

One of the thieves stole the keys to a two-wheel drive truck, which was used to break through a gate but got stuck attempting to traverse a ditch and was abandoned, according to Overbey.

As the rest of the robbers drove north on I-55, Overbey said the stranded driver re-entered the dealership to steal the Raptor and catch up with the crew.

In total, the store manager estimated the heist to have taken 20 to 30 minutes.

Two of the vehicles, the Raptor and the Corvette, were recovered Sunday according to social media posts from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.

At 9:54 a.m., a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office stated the Ford truck was recovered in Scott City. Overbey said it was found just over 6 miles north at a gas station near Burger King.

In security footage from the gas station, the group appears to attach stolen dealer plates to the vehicles before continuing, according to Overbey. He said footage also shows one suspect entering the store and purchasing two cigarillos.

At 11:15 a.m., a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office said the Corvette was recovered in the Kansas City area. According to Overbey, the vehicle was crashed “pretty badly” and one suspect is in Kansas City police custody following the incident.

Overbey said the VIN numbers of the recovered vehicles match those stolen Saturday night.

The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information about the vehicles or who may have taken them has been asked to contact the Scott County Sheriff’s Office at (573) 545-3525.

Calls to the Scott County Sheriff’s Office were not returned at the time of publication.