Crime & Safety

Car Stolen Using Key Owners Didn't Know They Had

Couple were unaware there was such a thing as a valet key that came with their car and was waiting in their glove box when a thief rifled it.

 

These are the things you wish your car dealer would have told you.

A Wauwatosa husband and wife learned the hard way what a valet key is and where it was located when they bought their vehicle.

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A couple, of the 7800 block of West Wright Street, reported Saturday that overnight someone broke into their garage and stole the wife’s car, a 2010 Honda Pilot.

They started by saying that on Wednesday, their garage had been entered through an unlocked door and her car, also unlocked, had been rifled. Because of that, they said, they had taken steps to ensure the garage and their cars were kept locked from then on.

Find out what's happening in Wauwatosawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When the wife came out Saturday morning, the garage door was closed as usual, but her car was gone. Police found that the burglar/car thief had stood on a back fence, ripped several lengths of siding off the garage gable, and crawled in through the hole.

The couple said they had both sets of keys to the car, but when asked about the valet key, they said they were unaware that they had such a thing – whatever it was.

A Wauwatosa police officer explained that a valet key was standard equipment on their Honda model and would have been included with the owner’s manual in the glove box. It will lock and unlock the doors and start the car, he told them, but it won't open the trunk or the glove box, if locked – the idea being to allow you to keep valuables safe from parking attendants.

Most likely, he said, the thief had stolen the valet key in Wednesday’s incident and returned Friday night for their car.


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