‘My kids are truly heartbroken’: Calgary father pleads with thieves who stole colorful car

A Calgary father is demanding his modified 1999 Honda Civic be returned to him after it was stolen by thieves in the Legacy community over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

“It’s Sunday morning and my mom came by. She was going to take my kids to Calaway (Park),” Josh Mai said.

“(My children) asked me where my colorful car was and I said it was in the street and we hadn’t seen it. I went to look and it was gone.”

Mai says thieves targeted her car between 2 and 3 a.m. on Sunday and she was spotted several times around the city, and even in Langdon.

He was also spotted between two vehicles at the East Hills shopping complex, outside the Walmart and Cineplex Odeon, earlier this week.

A Calgary father is demanding his modified 1999 Honda Civic be returned to him after it was stolen by thieves in the Legacy community over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

He claims the RCMP told him she was involved in a high-speed chase, but officers retreated when the driver became reckless and endangered public safety.

The unique car is brightly painted, has pink rims and was an autism awareness project for two of her three children who live with autism.

He says colors are like puzzle pieces and brightness also helps bring a sense of calm to them.

“My kids are really heartbroken,” Mai said.

“A lot of kids in the community who see it go by every day are really heartbroken because it’s part of their daily routine. And when my kids grew up, I was going to give them this car.”

Mai bought the manual car last year and fitted it with new side panels, a turbo and other modified parts.

“This car was really special because it was not just about me, but also about my children,” Mai said.

“It was about them liking the way they saw it. So they didn’t just steal from me, they stole from my children.”

A Calgary father is demanding his modified 1999 Honda Civic be returned to him after it was stolen by thieves in the Legacy community over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Under investigation

Mai says he has spoken to Calgary police and the department confirms they are investigating.

“They basically let me know that one day the guy will abandon the car and when he does, someone will report him somewhere it’s not supposed to be, we’ll go check the VIN or the license plate,” he said.

May would like to see a quicker resolution.

“I think it’s a disappointment,” he said.

“I wish they could do a little more, put a little resources into it.”

Police told CTV News there are dedicated resources available to try to find the vehicle.

“In many cases, stolen vehicles are used by criminals to commit other crimes, hide their identity and evade police,” police said in a statement.

“However, we cannot confirm that this is the case for the single car stolen from the Legacy community.

“We can confirm that we are actively working to locate the vehicle and anyone connected to the theft.”

Police say stolen vehicles require a large amount of resources to ensure public safety and arrest and charge those responsible.

“Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the car is asked to contact police as soon as possible, as time is of the essence when it comes to recovering a stolen vehicle,” the statement said.

A Calgary father is demanding his modified 1999 Honda Civic be returned to him after it was stolen by thieves in the Legacy community over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

More than a car

Autism Calgary is a community association group for those who have had an experience of autism as a parent or child.

Executive director Lyndon Parakin says bright colors help many people with autism.

“Colors also play an important role for all human beings in influencing our mood,” he said.

“So it can be used strategically in schools and classrooms as well as sensory break areas to create a very deliberate space to create positive stimulation for relaxation or to give someone a break after a excessive overstimulation.”

Parakin says that as a father of autistic children, he feels Mai’s pain at losing something so precious.

“I’m so moved by the way this father created this project with his children and I think it really speaks to the special effort he put into creating some sort of relationship with them,” Parakin said.

“I’m very sad for him that someone could destroy something that is probably so meaningful, that represents that connection with children.”

A Calgary father is demanding his modified 1999 Honda Civic be returned to him after it was stolen by thieves in the Legacy community over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

According to the most recent statistics provided by Calgary Police, in the first quarter of 2024, 1,129 vehicles were reported stolen or attempted to be stolen.

This number is down from the previous two years in the same period, with 1,302 in 2023 and 1,621 in 2022.