Car stolen from Hilton Head Island found after offer of ride goes bad

A stolen vehicle that had been missing for several hours was found after the victim said two men he was driving from Hilton Head Island to Hardeeville pushed him out of it on Sunday morning.

Deputies arrived at the Windmill Harbour security gate around 12:30 a.m. and found the victim wasn't wearing shoes, had scratches on his toes and swelling in his forehead, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report.

The victim said he was visiting a Parker’s on William Hilton Parkway when he ran into a man he knew only as “Q.”

“Q” asked him to take he and a friend to Hardeeville and they got in the car. The victim didn't know "Q's" friend, the report said.

On the way to Hardeeville, the victim asked “Q” and his friend to give him gas money and an argument began.

At that point, the victim pulled the vehicle over, got out, and asked both of the men to leave, the report said.

“Q” then jumped from the passenger seat to the driver's seat and attempted to drive away, the report said.

The victim then tried to get back in but was pushed out by “Q” near the Windmill Harbour security gate.

Deputies later found the victim's shoes on the side of the road near a Hilton Head bridge.

Deputies learned the vehicle belonged to the victim's mother, who had no idea it had been stolen.

When they went to her home to tell her, the missing car was parked in front of the residence, the report said.

The woman told deputies her son said he’d left it at a bar, the report said.

Her son then said he'd found the vehicle parked at the Shelter Cove Kroger later that morning, the report said.

He said he did not want to press charges against “Q.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Car stolen from Hilton Head Island found after offer of ride goes bad."