With all your loss, I guess what stands out to me is the call to the cops did no good. Based on 27 years experience, I would be willing to bet if they had sent a cruiser by to take a report, the item would be "magically" found on the floor or in a corner where the thief dropped it to avoid jail.
They can't use the "we're too busy" excuse either. I live on a resort town where it's non-stop action and although it's a tad late to do any good, I would be more PO'd at the cops than myself in this case. Just a suggestion, maybe find out the name of the owner of the car wash and contact him. While he may not give a rat's ...., you never know how many violations they already have or they may have none and want to keep it that way.
I would certainly try before I wrote it off. Let us know how things go for you man.