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WEBVTT >> -- NIYAH: I’M TOLD THE VAN WAS PARKED RIGHT HERE AND WHEN THE OWNER CAME OUT, IT WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND LEAVING A BIG PROBLEM FOR A FAMILY OF 7 AND ONE KID ON THE WAY. AND THAT FOUR-MINUTE SPAN, MY VEHICLE WAS GONE. NIYAH: AROUND 4 -- AROUND 6:30 TUESDAY NIGHT, ZACCHEUS PARKER SAYS HE PARKED HIS VAN RIGHT BY THE FRONT DOORS OF THIS WALMART NEAR 36TH AND SADDLE CREEK TUESDAY NIGHT. >> WALKED IN, GRABBED SOME JUICE, CHECKED OUT IN THE SELF CHECKOUT, AND WALKED RIGHT OUT THE DOOR. NIYAH: BUT PARKER SAYS THE QUICK TRIP COST HIM BIG TIME. >> LOOKED AROUND AND I’M LIKE NAH, IM FOR SURE THIS IS WHERE I PARKED AND THEN I REALIZED SOMEONE STOLE MY VEHICLE. NIYAH: THE GREEN 1998 CHEVY EXPRESS, WHICH LOOKS JUST LIKE THIS, WAS LEFT RUNNING WITH THE DOORS UNLOCKED. THE MISTAKE, LEAVING HIS FAMILY IN A BAD SPOT. >> IT’S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT IS OUR ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. WE REALLY NEED THAT VAN TO GET MY KIDS BACK AND FORTH. I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW I’M GONNA GET THEM TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. NIYAH: LASANDRA PARKER SAYS THE 12-PASSENGER VAN WAS A GIFT FROM THEIR CHURCH. >> WE ARE A BIG FAMILY SO WE DON’T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY JUST SAVED UP TO GO BUY A WHOLE OTHER VAN. >> I WOULD ASK THEM TO PLEASE RETURN IT, THAT’S ALL. RETURN IT. NIYAH: THE PARKERS FILED A POLICE REPORT, AGAIN, THE VAN IS A GREEN 1998 CHEVY EXPRESS. POLICE DID TELL ME THEY ARE TRYING TO WORK WITH WALMART TO CHECK SURVEILLANCE VIDEO OF THE INCI

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It's common during cold winter months -- a spike in car thefts wherein many times, the car has been left running. Police say it over and over: The freezing cold is no excuse to leave your car running unattended. It's a lesson one growing Omaha family is learning the hard way. Now, they hope people listen and help them find their vehicle. "I got to Walmart around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night. I walk in, grabbed juice, checked out through self-check out and walked out the door," Zaccheus Parker said. But when he walked to where he parked his van in the Walmart parking lot near 36th Street and Saddle Creek Road, it was nowhere to be found. "Looked around, and I'm like, 'I'm for sure this is where I parked,' and then I realized someone stole my vehicle," Parker said. He said it took four minutes to run in and out but the quick trip cost him big time. His green, 1998 Chevy Express was left running with the doors unlocked, which was a mistake that put his family in a bad spot. "It's very important because it's our only means of transportation. I have seven kids and one on the way," Lasandra Parker said. "We really need that van to get my kids back and forth. I don't even know how I'm gonna get them to school tomorrow."She said the 12-passenger van was a gift from their church. "We are a big family so we don't have a lot of money just saved up to go buy a whole other van," Lasandra Parker said. "I would ask them to please return it, that's all. Return it," Zaccheus Parker said.