St. Louis Man Asks Woman to Marry Him, She Steals His Car

Jilted well before the altar

By Ryan Krull

Nov 3, 2023 at 9:13 am

McCandless says she took the car for a drive to "clear her head."

Flickr/Arseni Mourzenko

Paula McCandless says the car of a man who proposed to her for a drive to "clear her head."

A St. Louis County woman is facing a felony charge for stealing an 83-year-old man's car. But she says she has a good excuse for taking the 2008 Chevy Uplander. The man had proposed marriage and she needed to take a drive to "clear her head."

The charges were filed yesterday against Deanna McCandless, though the alleged theft happened back in May.

According to a police probable cause statement, the 83-year-old man and McCandless had befriended each other after meeting while out walking in their Affton neighborhood. McCandless, who is in her mid-40s, moved in with the 83-year-old at some point, and eventually, he proposed to her.

McCandless didn't say yes, but she didn't say no either, apparently. She just drove off in his car.

McCandless says that the 83-year-old gave her his keys and told her to take a drive to clear her head. She told police she needed to think his proposal over due to their big age difference.

However, the 83-year-old reported a slightly different set of events to police. He said McCandless took off in the car around 4 a.m. "without his permission or knowledge." He reported the Uplander stolen and police recovered it two days later in Overland with McCandless inside.

McCandless is not currently in jail. She is ordered to appear in court later this month.

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Ryan Krull

Ryan Krull is a staff writer for the Riverfront Times. Find him on Twitter @ryanwkrull

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