Tulsa Police Find Stolen Van Belonging To Mother Of Child With Special Needs

A Tulsa mom is breathing a sigh of relief.

Jamie Arnett felt defeated when she looked at her empty driveway Friday morning. Her family's only car, a 2004 Honda Odyssey, was gone.

"It was right in the driveway!" Arnett said. "So weird, like, right here."

Arnett and her family moved from Sapulpa a month ago to a neighborhood near 41st and Yale. She said she researched the area, and thought it was safe. The van is so old, she said, the key has been stuck in the ignition for three years. She never thought anyone would take it.

The car is Arnett's only option to get to her job in Oklahoma City.

It gets worse: inside the van was a special car seat designed for children with disabilities. It would be about a thousand dollars to replace.

The car seat is for six-year-old Frankie, Arnett's son, who was born with a condition that makes it hard for him to function on his own.

"He has cranial nerve damage," Arnett explained. "He can't blink, really. And he can't close his mouth all the way."

Friday afternoon Arnett got a call from Tulsa Police, telling her someone reported a suspicious vehicle near their home, seven miles away in West Tulsa. The description matched Arnett's van.

Tulsa Police said someone ditched the car on the side of the road near 43rd and South Yukon Avenue. 

The car still runs, and the car seat was still inside, buried under the floor board covers.