OK, tow truck guy came out, and opened her up in 30 seconds with a slim jim. The trick appears to be the angle at which you approach the lift pin. From the passenger side, slim jim goes in behind/rearward from the door handle, about as far back on the door/window slit as possible. He angled the slim jim at almost a 45 degree angle, i.e., the bottom towards the front of the truck. At this angle he was able to slide a bit forward and snag the lift pin easily. Years of experience on hundreds of vehicles probably helped too.

Marlin, I have to actually own a spare key first! My VX only came with one, and I never got around to ordering a second. That will be high on my list of things to do today.