Two Drivers Learn Pitfalls of Leaving Keys in Minivans

Two men who own minivans learned recently – in very different ways – why it is risky to leave your keys in your unattended vehicle. In one case, that meant leaving the van running while attending to an errand, while "friends" waited.

According to police reports:

An Edgerton man reported Wednesday that at about 5:30 a.m., his minivan was stolen from the parking lot of the Walgreen’s store at 2275 N. Mayfair Rd. when he went inside and left the vehicle running while two friends, a man and a woman, remained with it.

When he walked out of the store after a few minutes, he saw his van vanishing down the street.

Milwaukee police reported soon after that they had spotted the missing van and stopped it, and a man leaped out of it and ran. He was caught and arrested.

Meanwhile, to add to his woes, the owner of the minivan was sent to jail after it was found that he was wanted for a probation violation.

Interesting items recovered from wrecked van

Another man learned that leaving the keys to your unlocked vehicle in plain sight inside is asking for trouble – and he got plenty, and it was plenty weird.

A resident of the 2100 block of North 67th Street reported on Oct. 26 that his unlocked minivan had been stolen from his driveway some time between 2 and 9 p.m. He said that he recalled having left his keys on the front seat.

The van was later recovered by Milwaukee police in the 1300 block of North 23rd Street with serious front-end damage from hitting a pole.

The owner, after recovering his minivan, called to say that he had found several items in it that were not his, including a Halloween horror mask, a pair of black gloves, one black sock and a comb with hair caught in the teeth.

Police in both jurisdictions, with more evidence than they had expected, are continuing to investigate.