In two separate cases, vehicles left to warm up on a cold Monday morning ended up being driven off by thieves.
The first case involved a black Dodge pickup truck from the 2100 block of 28th Crescent.
The truck was warming up outside while the driver was staying warm inside. Meanwhile, a thief made off with the truck.
Police pursued the vehicle and even set out a spike belt in the Enderby area, but the driver of the stolen truck avoided it.
The truck ended up being abandoned in the Sicamous area, but the thief didn’t stop there.
The female driver then stole a second pickup in the Sicamous area.
“The owner of the red pickup truck tried to stop her,” said Gord Molendyk, RCMP spokesperson. “I’m told that there were injuries.”
The thief got away with the pickup and headed back towards Vernon on the back roads.
RCMP tried to locate the red pickup using a helicopter over the Salmon Arm and Enderby back roads but were unsuccessful. RCMP are following up some leads.
In an unrelated incident, a Hyundai Santa Fe was stolen from the downtown core.
But both cases brought on the same opportunity for crime.
“They both were warming their vehicle up and went back inside,” said Molendyk.
Unfortunately in this cold weather, many drivers start their vehicles and leave them to warm up. But they are being warned of the consequences.
“It just leaves them vulnerable,” said Molendyk. “You could lose your vehicle.”
Drivers are warned that it is also illegal to leave a parked vehicle unlocked and unattended and could result in an $81 fine.
If drivers are going to leave their vehicles to warm up, Molendyk urges them to lock out the opportunity for crime by locking the doors.
