Worth more than any car: Indy woman pleads for car thief to return father’s keepsakes

INDIANAPOLIS — Early Thursday, Kennedy Minor’s car vanished into the night. But more was stolen than just her transportation. Inside the car were her last keepsakes from her father.

“I don’t have much left of him, but those things are worth more to me than the car,” she said.

A report from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirms the 2016 Kia Optima was stolen shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday. The vehicle was stolen from Walnut Ridge Lane, a residential street near 21st and Raceway on the city’s west side.

The Kia is black with license plate number 981DEF.

“Please please share or keep a look out,” Minor pleaded in a post on Facebook.

Minor might’ve captured a grainy image of the suspect on her Ring camera. But the return of the Kia Optima isn’t what is keeping her up at night.

Hanging from the rearview mirror was a bracelet made by her father. She also traveled with two photographs of her father, including a pin made from a photo of the two of them together after he returned from deployment.

These keepsakes are among the few things Minor has left of her father, who died in 2020, and they mean more to her than any car. She only hopes the thief will realize their sentimental importance and return them.

If anyone has any knowledge of the Kia Optima’s whereabouts, contact IMPD.