At least three cars were reported stolen in Aurora recently while the owners left them running outside to warm up, according to police reports.
Aurora police have been warning residents not to leave their vehicles running and unattended.
At 8:42 a.m. Friday, a 2008 silver Nissan Altima valued at $8,000 was reported stolen from a residential driveway on the 800 block of North Commonwealth Avenue, according to police reports. The car owner told police that at 8:32 a.m., he went outside to warm up his car, then went inside for about five minutes. He came outside to find his car missing, according to police.
At 10:49 p.m. Friday, a 2000 blue Chevrolet Tahoe valued at $3,000 was reported stolen from the 800 block of Fulton Street. The owner told police he had been visiting a friend on the block and parked his car facing westbound in front of the friend’s house. He went out to start his car at about 10:40 p.m., leaving it unlocked with the keys in the ignition, and returned about nine minutes later to see that the car was missing, according to police reports.
At 2:39 a.m. Sunday, a 2001 blue Dodge Caravan valued at $3,000 was reported stolen from a residential driveway on the 1000 block of Grand Boulevard, according to police reports. The owner said she had gone outside to start her car to warm it up, and that as she went back outside to leave, she saw an unknown man driving away eastbound on Grand Boulevard, according to police reports. The woman and some of her family members tried to chase the van but couldn’t locate it, according to police reports A short time later, the woman found the van parked on Summit Avenue just east of Hill Avenue, according to police reports.
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