America's biggest automakers have been ravaged by car thieves over the last year or so. These criminals are stealing cars at an alarming rate from the factories themselves, and although General Motors has suffered with thefts of its own cars in this way, it's Ford that seems to have been burdened most.

Some thieves have helped themselves to rugged Fords like the F-150 Raptor R, while others preferred the Mustang Shelby GT500. Not all of these thieves have been caught, but one guy found out the hard way that he couldn't thwart authorities. After allegedly stealing a Lincoln Aviator, he tried to hide in the bed of an F-150 Raptor at Ford's Dearborn premises, but a police helicopter's thermal camera spotted him.

A video of the capture was shared by the Michigan State Police online, and it only took the cops on the ground a few seconds to track down the suspect in the parking lot once the helicopter pilot discovered where he was. It probably helped the officers on the ground that the Raptor in question was painted in one of Ford's more shades, so it wasn't difficult to spot. The officer on the radio describes it as red, but this appears to be Code Orange. Regardless, once he was spotted by the chopper, it was all over.

The first officer was joined by others as they dragged the suspect out of the truck, who must've thought mere minutes earlier that he had found the perfect hiding place. While this particular scenario may have ended in success for authorities, the continued spate of thefts must be concerning for automakers.

Back in June, a bunch of F-150 Raptors was stolen, and they totaled over $1 million in value. A Stellantis plant was broken into in September, and on that occasion, criminals got away with several Jeep Wagoneers.

Although Ford said a few months ago that it was working with local police to control the situation, it seems a bit strange that automakers of this size have not invested in beefing up security at these sites.

Like the misguided individual in the Raptor's bed, other thieves have also failed in their attempts to steal cars. Two thieves who attempted to steal Chevy Camaros crashed the cars almost as soon as they got them started. Unfortunately, officers can't rely on the stupidity of a handful of thieves to get a grip on a situation that has spiraled out of control.