String Of Car Thefts Hitting Small Towns

Tools

Story Published: Nov 13, 2009 at 6:32 PM PDT

By Sade Malloy

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UPPER VALLEY -- Big city crime is now leaking into the Upper Valley, hitting small communities hard. A string of car thefts is proof of that. The Yakima Sheriff's Office recently investigated three auto thefts in a single day in a community that's not used to them.

The Upper Valley might be a quiet sleepy part of the county but that's changing. Action News has been tracking crime and found out there have been 13 cars stolen in just 13 days.

"One of the deputies taking a report of a stolen car found another one that was stolen some place else and dumped there," says Lt Brian Winter, Yakima Sheriff's Office.

Lieutenant Winter says the crooks aren't going after one specific make or model. They're just stealing the car, stripping it of any valuables inside and quickly ditching it.

A truck stolen Friday morning was back in owner's drive way by noon. The thieves only wanted the tools inside.

"I thought it was Josh Hadley, who is an employee of my husband and no it wasn't he called me at 6:30 to let me know the van was gone," says Clements.

This trashed interior is all that's left of the tools of the family trade. The van is back, $13,000 in equipment is gone.

"The audacity to come right under your nose and they probably know you're here so they get in and out pretty quietly," says Misty Clements, truck stolen.

The sheriff's office is still trying to piece all the information together. Investigators believe a small group of people is behind this recent string of thefts.

"It may not be the same group of people whose doing all these either, different motives," says Lt. Winter.

Despite the motives, the end result is a string of small communities wondering if the worst of the bigger cities has finally invaded their way of life.

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