Mother Of Five Has Stolen Car Returned After Texting Thief

A mother of five in Missouri couldn't believe her luck when her stolen van was returned last week after she pleaded with the thief via text.

Megan Bratten came out of a K-Mart store in Independence, Missouri to find an empty parking spot where her van had been sitting. Bratten, who supports her five kids on her own, used that van for work. She thought seeing the van ever again was hopeless, until she remembered the cell phone that was inside the vehicle when it was stolen. She decided to text it.

"I used some pretty explicit words and I said 'Hey, you just stole a single mother of five's work van. You are ruining my life here,'" Bratten told KCTV 5.

Her anger turned to desperation, and she pleaded for the return of her vehicle. A few hours passed before someone responded.

"I do feel bad...my kids needed a meal on the table so that's what their dad did got them food. I know its wrong but it's been so hard since I lost my job," the thief texted back. There were also instructions on where Bratten could pick up her van.

Bratten now has her vehicle back. She didn't go to the police, saying she understands the impulse to make bad choices in tough circumstances. Besides, the thief was kind enough to return her vehicle with the transmission fluid topped off.