Kansas teen says police 'brushed her off' after car stolen with 'life-saving' insulin pump
by: Matthew Johnstone
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Nineteen-year-old Tylynn Cross had her car stolen in the Lawrence Home Depot parking lot. Her purse was also stolen, which contained life-saving medication.
The same night her car was stolen, the Cross family noticed her debit card was used for three separate transactions at Topeka's Fat Shack. The family reached out to the owner, who supplied them with a video of who they believe to be the thief.
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The Cross family reached out to Topeka's Fat shack owner, who supplied them with a video of who they believe to be the thief.
"She was wearing my jacket that I had given Tylynn. She was holding Tylynn's keys with her long key chain. You could clearly see that she was holding Tylynn's purse and had her debit card in her hand," Casey Cross, Tylynn's mother said.
Because the debit card was used in Topeka, Lawrence police referred the family to the Topeka Police Department.
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"Anytime we try to get information or give them information that we have, we just kind of get brushed off," Casey said.
When Tylynn reached out to Topeka police to explain the importance of her insulin pump, she was left with more questions than answers.
"So I asked him, I was confused that there wasn't a detective on the case. I had asked him again when there would be. He basically told me that I wasn't the only girl in the world that had been a victim of a crime. It made me feel upset, and I ended up tearing up. He just brushed me off. I was trying to really just get him to understand that that's my life," Tylynn said.
Tylynn was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes this year. Her mother says it was up and down with her diabetes until she got the insulin pump, a $17,000 device.
"It's very frustrating. We have video footage of this lady using her debit card, wearing her things that could only be in her vehicle, and have nobody to give it to. Because when we let the Topeka police know that we have this footage that we know who did it, we were told they highly doubt it because if we haven't gotten contacted from the Topeka Police Department, then, it doesn't mean anything," Casey said.
KSNT reached out to the Topeka Police Department about the incident. They couldn't say anything about the case specifically but said in general that when a crime occurs between cities, tying them together with the different jurisdictions would take longer.
According to Tylynn's mother, the vehicle stolen was a 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara. It has a South Dakota plate numbered 8D0010. If you have any information about the car, please reach out to local law enforcement.