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The original was posted on /r/bestofredditorupdates by /u/Direct-Caterpillar77 on 2026-07-30 04:02:02+00:00.

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I am not The OOP, OOP is u/Used_Gear8871

House sitter stole and crashed my partner’s car

Originally posted to r/extremelyinfuriating

Thanks to u/soayherder for suggesting this BoRU

TRIGGER WARNING: animal neglect, missing cat

MOOD SPOILER: positive concerning OOP’s cat

Original Post July 19, 2026

What the title says. House sitter [19M, my relative], broke into, went on a joy ride, then crashed my SO’s car all while we’re abroad for a month.

Car key never given to the house sitter, was tucked away into belongings. House sitter rummaged through belongings, located a different old dead key with an expired battery (not the one I had hidden), and then proceeded to break into the car, look up a video on how to start the car, drive into the city for some unknown reason to me, and crash the car.

House sitter called multiple relatives in what I am now understanding as him setting the tone and readying his case. Then called me to tell me someone crashed into my SO’s car. Forgiving at first, I got whatever information I needed then informed my SO the news and other relatives who were the emergency contacts.

As the day went on, the other relatives began to text me blaming me for the crash, saying I shouldn’t have given him the keys or allowed him to have access to the car.

House sitter is newly licensed. Prior to trip other relatives were informed the car was only to be accessed by emergency contacts and that car key was hidden. Prior to trip house sitter was told this, to not touch the car, and that he wasn’t on the insurance (neither am I) just to really set it for him to not touch the car.

My amazing friend found the car, took all car keys, and is keeping eye on it.

As my SO got me towards calm, a different relative called to ask if the house sitter could retrieve their license from car.

Sorry for typos. Still in blind rage.

RELEVANT COMMENTS

slaviccivicnation

Holy fuck OP that is infuriating.

Worst is you being blamed for it. A newly licenced driver should not be an excuse to crash anyone’s car EVER. So the fact that any family is blaming you for “giving” him the keys are still plain wrong. Lending someone a car shouldn’t be an issue if the borrower isn’t a selfish moron. That said, you clearly didn’t allow it. It’s not your car even to allow cousin to drive!

I’m infuriated for you OP. In a car-centric culture, cars are everything to us. Hopefully you can actually get cousin or fam (or their insurance) to pay for repairs. At the end of the day, it’s cousin who crashed it, so he’s gotta pay for it. If not, it’s a police matter and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If cousin is hellbent on ruining his life like that, then maybe a lesson from you can save him from killing himself or someone else in a future “joy ride.”

OOP

We’re about 6-7 hours ahead of them. I just got the first message from a relative (my mom) of the day and it’s rage bait. No accountability, no acknowledging what happened, just a plea to not call the police, “he’s just a kid”, “he’s my nephew”, and diversion.

Prior to this message, my SO has said he’s against pressing charges, says he’s just a kid, doesn’t want to ruin his life as well. He’s been trying to research ways around involving the police all day.

Me? I want charges pressed. Firm believer in consequences. Kindness, trust, and generosity were taken for granted. Lies and deceit that followed are unforgivable.

Response to my mom and any other relative today that is not an offer of compensation and acknowledgment/apology, will be the same: highlight lack of critical thinking skills among my family and that I’m encouraging my SO to press charges. Going back to no contact when this is over.

~

WerdaVisla

So maybe it’s just me. But if I were being paid to do literally nothing except occasionally dust some surfaces and maybe water some plants, I’d take care to not lose that gig. No rummaging through their stuff or stealing their car or whatever the fuck people get up to.

Paid house sitting is SUCH a sweet deal, I’ll never understand how there are so many horror stories where people screw it up so bad.

OOP

This is what gets me. Sitter was doing great, animals were taken care of, he cleaned the house without our asking, and was allowed to have friends over. I spent $220 stocking the fridge and pantry for him, SO prepped meals for him, SO covered his Uber/Lyft rides to and from work, and SO paid him weekly. We chuckled when he told us he felt like he was free loading. SO and I planned to tip him and extra few hundred for the good work he was doing. And then this shit happened.

To give someone so much trust and kindness all for this to happen, I don’t understand.

Update July 22, 2026

Our cat has been missing since the night the house sitter was evicted. We are only just finding out today that our indoor only cat hasn’t been seen nor active around our house since Saturday night.

While being evicted from the premises by someone who failed to supervise the disgruntled sitter as he packed up his belongings, something happened to our cat. We don’t know if the disgruntled house sitter threw the cat outside, off the balcony, or put him into his bag of belongings. Our cat is gone.

Timeline of events:

• House sitter located dead car key, broke into, started, joyride, then crashed SO’s car.
• House sitter calls relatives with false story of me, someone who isn’t on the car registration nor insurance, somehow giving him permission to the vehicle.
• House sitter calls me confessing crash, laughs when asked him where he found the car key.
• House sitter leaves house with another relative to attend family function, leaving car key behind
• Close friend rushed to our house to do a wellness check on our pets, the car, house, while collecting all car and house keys; calls and sends video of all our pets
• House sitter informed via text of termination
• House sitter escorted back to house to gather belongings, apparently with limited supervision
• Relative escorting house sitting calls requesting access to the car to retrieve drivers license; request denied.
• New pet sitter arrives at house Sunday morning, doesn’t see the cat
• Next pet sitter arrives at house Sunday evening, also doesn’t see the cat
• Over the next two days, none of the pet sitters find our cat nor see activity in his litter box or his food.

Cat was last seen by our close friend on Saturday night. Cat is indoor only. In-laws, neighbors, friends, exes, hired pet sitters, and the owner of the pet sitting company have all entered our home in the last 24 hours searching for our cat. The owner of the pet sitting company, with my permission, turned the house upside down searching for our cat or any signs of him.

We believe the disgruntled house sitter did one of the following: took the cat and hid him in his bag, threw the cat outside either onto or off the deck, or killed the cat and disposed of his body.

Relative that was with him when he was evicted initially declined to answer questions, with police now involved, as been answering questions. Animal tracking service has been hired.

The sweetest and snuggliest boy that I finally convinced that head kisses and being held so he could melt into my arms are amazing things, is gone. My mini weighted and heated, purring blanket and alarm clock is gone. This silly little guy who had a not-so-secret crush on my dog and hilariously humped her diaper when she was in heat, is gone.

The most infuriating part is, I can’t be there to help search for him and the person responsible still hasn’t shown accountability.

Edit: Update - July 23rd

He was found!

Spotted after 1am attempting to climb our fence and onto our deck.

My MIL drove two hours to our house to work with the professional animal tracker and an amazing friend who helped search and setup her nature camera by the food trap they made. They spent 3 hours searching around our house together.

MIL sent a long text of how she stayed up late reorganizing our kitchen when she spotted him. Will share in comments if possible.

My SO had just left for work when her text came through. It’s almost 8am here. Internet and cell phone service is bare, so I sprinted in my pajamas to his lab to tell him. We spent the entire night devastated and sobbing. Seeing his face light up was the best thing ever on top of kitty being found!

SO’s mom got kitty’s wound cleaned up and fed. Performed many snuggles and is taking him home with her, which is something we wish we did in first place.

Deciding when to get add the other updates. I’m elated kitty has been found but I’m currently battling with stress, anxiety, and shock. Trying to type an update on the remaining and newly uncovered things triggers an anxiety attack.

But will address that the professional dog walkers have been amazing. They were the ones who figured out our cat was never in the house when their caretaking service started…

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