A string of thefts from unlocked vehicles in the South Oakdale Drive area left the Bloomington Police Department offering residents one piece of advice — lock your cars.
There were six cases total, including four instances of someone entering unlocked cars Saturday, one occasion where it’s unclear whether the car was locked, and one case where a Chrysler minivan was stolen — and later found a short distance away.
BPD Sgt. Cody Forston said it’s likely the first four thefts and the minivan theft are related. It’s unclear whether the fifth theft is related because it happened in a different area.
The van was stolen from the 1600 block of South Birch Lane between 11 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday. At the time of the theft, the Chrysler was unlocked with its keys in the ignition.
It was found later that day on South Pecan Lane, not far from South Birch. The keys and some change were missing, and officers said it looked like someone had rummaged through the van.
A Samsung Galaxy tablet was stolen from a backpack inside an unlocked car on South Pecan Lane during the same time period the minivan was stolen.
Another car on South Pecan Lane was rummaged through between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. Saturday. Nothing was stolen, police said, but a purse was taken from the car and discarded next to the car.
Police said it appeared someone had gone through an unlocked car on South Oakdale Drive between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. Saturday. Nothing was missing, officers said, but it was clear someone had been in the glovebox.
A wallet containing a driver’s license and credit card was taken from an unlocked car on West Spruce Drive between 12:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Another wallet was taken from the glove compartment of a vehicle on South Morton Street between 2:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., but Forston said it may not be related to the other thefts because South Morton is about a 10-minute drive from the Oakdale Drive area.
It is unclear whether the car from which the wallet was taken from was unlocked.
