Police warn of car thefts

The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell police officials are reminding people to keep their vehicles locked, following a rash of car thefts in the past week.

At least nine reports of stolen vehicles have been received in the last week, including three on Saturday alone, according to Sgt. Wade Rademacher.

"To have that many thefts in such a short time, in my experience, is unusual," Rademacher said. "We don't know if they're related. The only thing they have in common is that the keys were in them and/or the cars were unlocked."

Some of the vehicles were recovered a short distance away, he said, suggesting that some people were joy-riding. Other vehicles still haven't been located.

In 2001, the police department handled almost 400 vehicle break-ins or thefts. In an interview last year, Police Chief Frank Garner said about 97 percent of the cars were unlocked.

Two years later, after an aggressive public education and monitoring campaign, that number was cut in half.

Rademacher encouraged people to remove their keys from their vehicles and lock the doors.