A South Jersey mom surprised her son with Eagles tickets Sunday, and it turned into a nightmare. When they left the game, her car was gone. She thought it was stolen, but police told her it was courtesy towed. As of Thursday evening, her car is still missing, and Jacquie Martin doesn't know if it was courtesy towed, stolen, or both.

Martin was thrilled to snag tickets to the Eagles' playoff game Sunday against the 49ers and couldn't wait to surprise her 16-year-old son.

"He was like, what!?! He was very excited," she said.

Martin said parking was impossible when she got to the sports complex, so she decided to park her car on 7th Street, not far from Pattison Avenue. She admitted she parked it illegally, along with a long row of other illegally parked cars on 7th Street.

After the game, she returned to the spot and said it was gone. Martin said at first, she thought it might have been stolen or towed to the impound lot because she parked in a No Stopping zone, but the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) has no record of it being ticketed or towed. On Monday, she says a police officer told her he had good news.

"Your car was courtesy towed. And I said what do you mean courtesy towed?" Martin said.

A courtesy tow is when a parked car gets legally moved to make way for utility work or a special event, among other things. Police, the PPA or a private tower could be behind the tow.

Martin said police told her, "An officer used an outside vendor to tow my car, somewhere, not in an impound lot, but on a street somewhere and I have to go find it," she said.

On Monday, Martin said she and her 80-year-old mom drove all around the area and never found it. The next day, she went to the police department's 3rd District.

According to the city, if a car is courtesy towed, the district should have a record of it, but they didn't. Instead, Martin said an officer offered to drive her around and look for the car. They never found it, and she ultimately filed a stolen vehicle report. By Thursday, she said her insurance agent found a clue and sent her an email.

It showed her car had been spotted by a police license plate reader at 2 a.m. on Monday, less than a mile from where she says she parked it before the game. CBS News Philadelphia checked that location Thursday afternoon, and it wasn't there.

"It's a nightmare. It's crazy. Because nothing makes sense, right?" Martin said.

She's still hoping her car turns up, especially because she only has two payments left on the loan.

CBS Philadelphia also reached out to the Streets Department to see if they know anything. We haven't heard back yet.

Meantime, she's not the only one exasperated by the city's towing policies. A CBS News Philadelphia investigation last spring found courtesy tows in Philadelphia can leave people searching for their cars and paying fines. In October 2023, Philadelphia City Council adopted a resolution to hold hearings to investigate courtesy towing. They have yet to hold a single hearing.