Police searching for woman’s car full of kids’ presents taken on Christmas Day

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - A Gulf Coast woman is distraught after her vehicle was stolen within 30 minutes of visiting Treasure Bay Casino on Christmas Day.

Dashua Thompson, a single mother of two, said it was full of her children’s Christmas presents.

“I was like, let me go to my car to change my shoes, and then I realized I don’t have my keys. Where are my keys?” she said.

Thompson retraced her steps to the parking lot where she realized her car was missing as well.

“Are they going to take my kids’ presents that was in my car, which I know they probably are,” she said. “It was Christmas Day. Like, this is supposed to be the season of giving.”

She rushed to hotel security, and crews checked surveillance video footage.

“They couldn’t tell me anything except for they did see somebody picking up my keys and getting in my car,” she said.

She then filed a report with the Biloxi Police Department.

“We’ve identified a person of interest, and depending on the facts and circumstances, there’s potential for a warrant to be issued for the person,” Lt. Kenneth Garner said.

According to Garner, it’s a crime of opportunity that occurs frequently at casinos.

“It’s pretty frequent in Biloxi,” he said. “People just get distracted, and they leave their stuff laying around, and someone’s going to take advantage of it, and that’s kind of what happened to this lady.”

Thompson drives an off-white 2016 Nissan Rouge with a custom tag that reads D AYANA, with a cheetah-print frame.

If you see or have any information, you’re urged to contact the Biloxi Police Department at 228-392-0641.

WLOX reached out to Treasure Bay for comment, but no one was available to speak.

Copyright 2021 WLOX. All rights reserved.