A 1968 Chevy C10 has been part of Eddie Bravenec’s family for three generations. Monday, security footage captured criminals towing the truck away.
SAN ANTONIO — UPDATE 3/9/25
The truck was recovered based on a tip that was received after this story aired. The bumper had been removed and the truck repainted, according to Katy Bravenec.
This is still an active investigation.
—————–
A symbol of family history and tradition — gone in less than a minute.
A 1968 Chevy C10 wasn’t just a means of transportation for one local family. It carried three generations of memories.
Monday night, criminals were caught on camera towing the truck away. KENS learned a new clue that may help track them down.
“You have certain things happen to you in life that it’s like an upper cut that comes out of nowhere,” said Eddie Bravenec, a resident of San Antonio’s Monte Vista neighborhood.
When Bravenec drives his 1968 Chevy, he’s never riding alone.
“This was my grandpa’s truck. I played in it as a kid, my uncles and my dad drove this truck. My one uncle that’s alive gave it to me, so it’s like I’m driving around with my grandpa, my dad and my dead uncles. It meant a lot to me,” said Bravenec.
Alongside him are 116,000 miles of cherished memories that he hoped to pass along to a fourth generation: his son.
“I selfishly wanted him to drive it one day,” he explained. “I guess that’s really why I want it back.”
About two weeks ago, construction began on Shook Avenue, blocking Bravenec’s driveway and forcing the family to find alternate parking spots. The church across the street off Shook Avenue and Bushnell agreed to let them park in their parking lot.
Tuesday morning, Bravenec walked to the parking lot of the church and made a heartbreaking discovery.
His truck disappeared.
“I thought I was losing my mind. I looked around and I realized I wasn’t losing my mind because someone came up to me and said they found some broken glass,” said Bravenec.
Church surveillance footage shows exactly what happened.
At 11:47 Monday night, a man is seen walking down the church sidewalk toward the truck. At 11:51, another truck drives in and loops around the Chevy. You can see the man underneath the Chevy tying a tow strap that he hooks onto the other truck. The man hops in the Chevy and gets towed away by 11:52.
“It’s a 1968 Chevy C10 long bed. It’s all steel and it has the original engine, which is sort of underpowered. It makes a lot of noise, surprisingly enough it’s an automatic,” Bravenec explained. “It literally looks like a piece of gold driving down the street.”
Eddie just restored the Chevy and kept the original color. On the rear bumper, it reads ‘Joe Conte’s Mike Persia Chevrolet Houston, Texas’.
He’s hopeful since the vehicle is so rare, surely someone will recognize it.
“Besides people, it’s the most valuable thing I have,” he said.
San Antonio Police say the suspect left a black and green Under Armour backpack at the scene, which was taken in as evidence.
Bravenec says his vehicle theft isn’t the only crime to happen in the neighborhood lately. He says while Monte Vista typically has roughly five crime incidents per year, they’ve experienced about five incidents per week since construction began.
“There’s been one house that they broke into, I don’t know all the things they stole. Thank God the person wasn’t home,” said Bravenec. “There have been two vehicles plus mine that have been stolen. There’s been two break-ins, including a former judge I know well, in his cars and 10 other minor incidents.”
What may be beneficial, he believes, is an increase of police patrols or camera installations along construction zones.
If you have any information on these cases, call SAPD.
There is a cash reward for the person who finds the 1968 Chevy.