How easy is it to steal a car?

   Early Wednesday morning in Eagle Grove there were four known vehicles (and could be more) that were reported stolen, between midnight and 5:30 a.m. on July 22, 2015. These four vehicles all had one thing in common: keys left inside the vehicle. 

   “It’s a small town and people don’t expect it” said Chief of Police, Ray Beltran. A lot of us are guilty of taking advantage of this small town safety feeling, whether we leave the keys in when we run into a convenience store or to take mail into the post office. Most of the time, we can trust our fellow neighbors to respect our vehicles, but Wednesday morning was a different story. If someone finds a key inside your car, it is not a felony to drive away with your car, it is called joyriding and it is a misdemeanor. It is much less risky to the person wanting to take your car. 

   Beltran also stated “The officer on duty this morning spotted odd parking along Western street and did some investigating.”  At this time there are no suspects, but all cars were parked in a row, with a tire propped up on the curb on S. Western Street. The stolen vehicles seem to have been taken from residents who live in that area. Some were reported missing that morning and others were notified after 8 a.m. of their vehicles being parked along this street. Officers are still on stand-by waiting for any others to report their cars missing. 

   If you have any information or details on this incident you are encourged to contact the Eagle Grove Police Department at 515-448-4793. Please feel free to message us on Facebook and post your comments on our page.

Note: Don’t make it easy for a thief to steal your car. Take your keys out of the car and lock it up.