Tulsa Student Says Thieves Stole Flash Drives Containing Hours Of Work

A Tulsa graphic design student says the thief who broke into her car Monday and took her school books and laptop also took something that's irreplaceable.

Tasha Powell is 23 years old and is majoring in digital media at Tulsa Community College.

Powell's heart sank when she realized someone had broken into her car and stolen everything, her Macbook, her school books, her clothes, the title to her car, even some checks. But what hit her the hardest was her missing flash drives and the hundreds of hours of work they contain.

"I had three thumb drives of everything I've done in my college career, every website I've ever built, every photo I've ever edited, every picture I've taken, everything I will need for my degree, to prove myself," Powell said.

She said those flash drives have no value to anyone but her and she desperately wants them back. It won't be fast or easy, but she can replace everything else.

"Drop them off at Channel 6 or TCC, just, they have my name, my name is on everything. Just put my name on it and drop it off. I need those things," Powell said.

It's little comfort to Tasha to realize she is not alone.

Tulsa Police say, this time of year, about 300 people a month have their car broken into and it's going to get worse headed into spring, peaking in May. The hotspots are popular shopping areas, parks where people go to exercise, restaurants and workout places.

The bottom line is, you can't leave anything inside your car, not even in your trunk. Powell said some of the things she lost were in her trunk.

Her sister is putting up a $500 reward, so Powell wrote that on her back window—anything to get her stuff back.

"I felt very devastated and very violated. Everything I've worked for, two jobs, going through school—I've worked very hard for those things, they weren't given to me. I worked for them and they're just taken," Powell said.

Powell said she is contacting area pawn shops with the serial number of her Macbook and description of her flash drives, in case someone tries to pawn them.

She had to go to class Tuesday with none of her assignments, nothing to show for her months and months of hard work. Still, she said she will just work twice as hard, because she is determined to become the first person in her family to graduate college.

About 400 people get theirs car broken into every month in Tulsa, and those numbers are about to go up as we come into April, May and June.