AKRON, Ohio (WOIO) - Just days ago park rangers warned visitors to the Summit Metro Parks in Akron about a string of car break-ins, and now a young mother is also sounding the alarm.
For Jammie Ivancic and her family, the stunning view of the Cascade Valley Overlook provided an afternoon of free, healthy fun. But as they returned to their car, prepared for an ice cream run, the family found a busted passenger side window, broken glass everywhere, and their valuables stolen.
"I tried asking everybody who walked by if they saw anything. I was sobbing; I was so emotionally distraught. My husband started going through the car and saw my purse, and his Ray-Bans, and our dashcam was stolen," Ivancic said.
Stolen valuables that in some cases held sentimental value, like Ivancic's first ever cosmetology license just out of high school, and a purse gifted by a friend.
"My purse they stole was a limited edition Pride purse that my client gave me so it broke my heart to know that it's gone and I will probably never see it again," Ivancic said.
19 News has reached out to Summit Metro Parks to find out if there have been any further car break-ins and if any arrests have been made. We are awaiting a response.
Ivancic says she'll now have to pay the price for someone else's crime, over $400 to have her passenger window fixed.
And while Ivancic thought her items were hidden away well enough in her car, she tells 19 News she can't afford for a breakin to happen again and is passing along this advice to other park goers.
"They said it's been happening more often and if you do bring valuables to stop at a gas station or a Walgreens before hand and stash everything, and then go enjoy the Metro Parks," Ivancic said.