Hot Tomato’s Emily Jade O’Keeffe on ‘scary’ run-in with car thieves at home in Ashmore, Gold Coast

A Gold Coast radio and media personality has revealed a terrifying run-in with car thieves metres from her front door. See the video

HOT Tomato’s Emily Jade O’Keeffe has revealed a terrifying a run-in with thieves pillaging a friend’s car metres from her front door.

At 8:30pm last Thursday, Ms O’Keeffe had friends over at her Ashmore home for end-of-year drinks before one of her guests went to pack the car before saying goodbye.

Emily-Jade O'Keeffe has expressed shock over the “scary” incident. Picture: Richard Gosling

“He put some things in the car, left it unlocked and came back in to get his baby daughter Nora, 2, his wife and their two other kids,” Ms O’Keeffe said.

“Within the space of minutes someone has pulled up slowly, jumped out of their car and ransacked their car.

“He grabbed what he could and then sped off.”

The theft was partially captured on a doorbell camera. Picture: Supplied.

The culprit got away with $300 in cash, a handbag and other items from the car.

Ms O’Keeffe said the theft was captured on a doorbell CCTV device and handed over to police.

“We had to report it online which was a bit of a punish to be honest,” she said.

She described the theft as “brazen and scary”, adding: “I’m just glad baby Nora wasn’t in the car”.

Ms O'Keeffe at her home at Ashmore, which she says is “a beautiful area, but there has been some crime lately”. Picture: Luke Marsden.

Ms O’Keeffe said she was also “glad it didn’t go another way, as in the husbands chasing the thief down the street in their underwear”. Two weeks ago on December 13, in a separate incident, Gold Coast EMF gym director Scott Freeman successfully chased a teenager down wearing only his underpants after his home was broken into twice in the same night.

“It’s a beautiful area but there has been some crime lately,” Ms O’Keeffe said.

She said police had since recovered the handbag, found dumped in a Lifeline bin at Worongary.

The offender has not been caught.

Police investigations are ongoing.

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Originally published as Hot Tomato’s Emily Jade O’Keeffe on ‘scary’ run-in with car thieves at home in Ashmore, Gold Coast