Perth County OPP officers are busy investigating a series of stolen and recovered vehicles in Perth East.
Early on the morning of May 16, 2020, officers were called when a small car with homemade licence plates was found abandoned at a property on Line 42. The same had been used to drive through a newly planted field and appears to be related to four stolen vehicles reported shortly after.
It is unknown how many suspects were involved, but it is believed that they travelled north on Perth Road 135, where they attended a rural property at the south end of Wartburg and stole an unlocked GMC pick-up truck. This truck was recovered at another residence a short distance away in Rostock. All the vehicles at this residence were locked, however, so the suspects proceeded north again.
The suspects then committed a break and enter at another Rostock residence, where vehicle keys were stolen from an unlocked garage. The owner's Ford Escape was then stolen from the driveway.
This stolen Escape was later located on Mill Street, in Milverton, not far from where two more vehicles were stolen from one residence on Maple Street.
Another unlocked garage was entered at this property, where two sets of keys, an iPad, and an iPhone were taken. One GMC pick-up truck was stolen from the driveway and subsequently collided with a tree. It is unknown if anyone sustained any injuries as a result of the collision. The owner's orange Dodge Caliber was also stolen, however, and has not yet been recovered.
While only one vehicle remains outstanding, investigations into stolen and recovered vehicles take a significant amount of police resources and time. Fortunately, no one was believed to be injured as a result of these occurrences. The OPP is urging all property owners to lock their homes, outbuildings, and vehicles, and to remove the keys. If anyone observes suspicious activity, they are asked to please contact the police immediately.
Anyone with information regarding this or any incident is asked to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or online at www.opp.ca/reporting. Should you wish to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at http://hc-cs.ca where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.
