A Nantucket Summer Tale: Whose White Jeep Is It? Maybe Not Yours

A redacted Nantucket Police Department report about a stolen motor vehicle case obtained by the Current last week revealed a hilarious only-on-Nantucket tale that ended with the suspect and the victim apparently becoming fast friends. 

On July 6th, the Nantucket Police Department responded to the airport after receiving a report that someone's 2022 white Jeep Wagoner was stolen. As it turned out, the white Jeep in question wasn’t actually stolen but was rather taken by someone who believed it was his.

According to the police report, officer Andrew McNeilly arrived at Nantucket Memorial Airport just after 7:30 p.m. that evening to speak with a white jeep owner who said their vehicle was taken (their name was redacted from the report). The owner told police their caretaker dropped the Jeep off at 4:45 p.m. to be picked up. When the owner arrived on island at around 7:10 p.m. and went to the airport, the Jeep was nowhere to be found.

After calling the caretaker to confirm the exact location in the parking lot where they dropped off the Jeep, the owner confirmed the Jeep to be missing. McNeilly said that as he was speaking to the owner, an individual whose name is redacted from the report told McNeilly that the Jeep was located at the Whaling Museum parking lot.

An officer downtown stood by the jeep while McNeilly responded to the area. As the owner retrieved the spare keys and made their way downtown, police inventoried the vehicle – locating a suit jacket and bags that did not belong to the owner.

As police searched the Jeep, the culprit in the case arrived on the scene and asked officers why they were searching his vehicle. The individual told police he rented a white Jeep, and it was supposed to be parked at the airport with the keys in it. He went on to say that this Jeep “had exactly that,” and so he took it.

Police informed the man this was not a rental car and the individual immediately apologized and said they had no idea the white Jeep wasn’t a rental.

Once the owner of the Jeep arrived on the scene and was informed of the situation, he not only told police he had no desire to pursue criminal charges but went on to say that he would give the man who accidentally stole his Jeep a ride anywhere he needed.

As officers cleared the scene, the owner and short-lived Jeep bandit "left the area together" not as enemies, but as friends.