NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — There is a concerning trend involving vehicle thefts across Middle Tennessee, with Davidson County seeing a spike of nearly 50% so far this year compared to this time last year.

“My husband was like, ‘Where’s the car?’ And I said, ‘What do you mean where’s the car?’ And he was like, ‘The car, like, where’s my car?’ And I was like, ‘It’s outside.’ He was like, ‘No it’s not.’ I’m thinking he was messing with me, and he was like, ‘The car isn’t outside,’ so I look — the car was gone,” Melissa Jackson recalled.

It was around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Brookside subdivision in La Vergne. Jackson was inside their home when she said a white SUV pulled up and someone took off with their 2013 black Dodge Charger.

“A lot of people think, ‘Okay, well, your car was just stolen,’ but it’s a lot more to that. It’s a car was stolen in front of my house. My kids were there, I was there. It’s something you work hard [for], it was paid off, and so now, you know, we’re a family of six working with one car,” Jackson explained.

She posted on Facebook, which led her to discover her family wasn’t the only one victimized by who she believes are the same people in a white SUV.

“A guy in Murfreesboro let us know that his car was stolen, I want to say the week before, with the same white car, and, of course, once we put it on Facebook, there has been a numerous amount of people,” Jackson said.

Jackson believes the same white SUV was seen the next day around 6:30 p.m. in the Books-A-Million parking lot in Rivergate. In that case, surveillance footage shows someone from the SUV bust the window out of a 2016 black Dodge Challenger before taking off. According to the victim, the suspects were in a white Acura MDX.

“It’s Chargers, Challengers so far is the most I’m hearing,” Jackson told News 2.

The latest data from the Metro Nashville Police Department shows at least 3,237 vehicles have been stolen so far in 2023, compared to the 3,298 vehicles that were stolen throughout 2022.

“I don’t know if it’s the economy and if people just got word that these are one of the easiest cars to steal,” Jackson said. “That’s the only thing I can think of.”

Metro police said a national trend in thefts of Kias and Hyundais are partly to blame for the spike in numbers. Motorists are urged to take common sense measures, like making sure your keys aren’t left inside your car, as well as invest in a steering wheel lock to protect against potential thieves.

If you have any information about stolen vehicles in your area, you are asked to contact your local law enforcement agency.