Residents Are At Risk With Car Thefts In Our Area

The cold weather has people heating up their cars while they wait inside for them to warm up, even leaving them on while they run into the store real quick. Amarillo Police say 79 vehicles were stolen in the month January alone.

Cars have been stolen right in front of day cares, where children have been taken also with the vehicle.Typically once the thief realizes there's a kid in the back seat, they don't want to be connected to that crime.

Thief's tend to steal a car from one area, drive it around for a few hours, and then drop it off somewhere else and then steal another one .Police say sometimes those cars are used to commit crimes. Once the vehicle is found usually or not it has been wrecked, burned, trashed, and even parts have been stolen.

So the next time you do leave your car on during the cold mornings, make sure you do lock your doors. Then use your spare keys to unlock them. Don't leave your car on while you run the store real quick, be smarter and turn your car off it will much better then losing your vehicle.