Pumping gas feels like the most routine thing in the world. You pull up, swipe your card, and zone out for two minutes while the numbers tick up. But for one La Vergne, Tennessee woman, that brief distraction was all it took for thieves to make off with her wallet and hundreds of dollars in cash.
Dawn Barbee thought she was doing everything right. She pulled up to a Walmart gas station, stepped out of her truck, and started paying at the pump like millions of people do every single day. What she didn’t notice was someone quietly slipping in through the passenger side of her vehicle while her back was turned. By the time she finished fueling up and reached for her wallet, it was already gone.
“I got back in the car to put my card back in my wallet and my wallet wasn’t there,” Barbee recalled. “I was like, I know I just had my wallet.” After searching around the area with no luck, she called La Vergne police. Officers reviewed surveillance footage and confirmed her suspicion: she had been deliberately targeted. The thief had parked at a nearby pump and waited for exactly the right moment to strike.
The responding officer put it bluntly: “Yep, you got, got.” It was a $285 lesson Barbee never expected to learn at a gas station, and now she wants to make sure no one else has to learn it the same way.
What Exactly Is “Sliding” and Why Is It So Hard to Catch?
Law enforcement describes the technique as “sliding,” and the name is pretty self-explanatory once you hear it. A thief parks their vehicle at an adjacent pump, watches for a driver to step out and face away from the car, then slides into the unlocked passenger side to grab whatever is visible and valuable. Wallets, purses, phones, and bags are the most common targets.
What makes sliding so effective and so frustrating for police is how fast it happens. The whole thing can be over in under 30 seconds. There’s no broken window, no alarm, no confrontation. The driver never even realizes someone was in their car until they go to reach for something that isn’t there anymore. By that point, the thief is long gone.
Surveillance cameras at gas stations can capture the act, as was the case with Barbee’s incident, but that doesn’t always lead to quick arrests. Thieves are often aware of camera placement and can angle themselves to avoid clear identification.
This Is Not Just a Tennessee Problem
Sliding thefts have been reported across the country and are considered by many police departments to be a growing trend. Gas stations are ideal hunting grounds for this type of crime because of a perfect storm of conditions: drivers are briefly distracted, vehicles are often unlocked, and the layout of pump stations makes it easy for a suspect to approach from a blind spot.
High-traffic locations near major retail stores, like the Walmart gas station where Barbee was targeted, tend to see more incidents because there is built-in foot traffic that makes unusual behavior harder to spot. A person walking between pump lanes does not raise any red flags in a busy parking lot.
Busy weekend mornings, holidays, and times when stations are crowded can actually increase risk rather than reduce it, because thieves rely on the chaos of a full lot to blend in and move quickly without drawing attention.
What We Can Learn From Dawn Barbee’s Experience
The unfortunate reality is that this type of theft is almost entirely preventable with a small habit change. Barbee’s story is a useful reminder of how quickly and quietly crime can happen in the most ordinary of settings, and there are some clear takeaways worth keeping in mind.
The biggest one is simple: lock your doors every time you exit the vehicle, even if you are only stepping a few feet away. Many people leave their car unlocked at the pump because they assume they’ll be right back, but “right back” is exactly the window these thieves are counting on. Most modern vehicles allow you to lock the doors from outside using the key fob even while the engine or accessories are still running.
Leaving wallets, purses, and bags out of sight is also worth making a habit. A wallet sitting on the center console or a purse on the passenger seat is essentially an advertisement to anyone walking by. Storing valuables in a glove compartment, under a seat, or in a locked trunk before you get out removes the temptation entirely.
Finally, staying aware of who is parked nearby matters more than most people realize. You do not need to be paranoid, but a quick glance around before stepping out takes about one second and costs nothing.
What to Do If It Happens to You
If you suspect you have been a victim of a sliding theft, the steps are fairly straightforward. Call local police immediately and ask them to review any available gas station surveillance footage while the footage is still fresh, as many systems overwrite recordings within 24 to 72 hours. File a report even if you think the chances of recovering the stolen items are low, because police use those reports to track patterns and identify repeat offenders in an area.
If your wallet was taken, contact your bank or credit card company right away to freeze or cancel any compromised cards. Check your accounts for any transactions that may have occurred in the time between the theft and your discovery of it. If a driver’s license or other ID was in the wallet, reporting it to your state’s DMV and monitoring for identity theft activity is also a smart move.
Barbee is now speaking publicly about her experience specifically because she wants people to be aware that this is happening. The crime may be called “sliding,” but there is nothing subtle about losing $285 and having your sense of security shaken at a routine gas stop.