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WEST POINT — Police in Davis County are looking for a woman believed to be connected to a spree of car burglaries.
Police are careful to point out that they are not certain of the woman's connection to all the burglaries. A man who had two cars raided is more certain, though, because he says he saw her twice: once out in front of his house, and once the next street over, as he was going to get some coffee. Both times, she sped off.
All of the cars involved fell victim because their doors were unlocked.
Chad Kihlstrom said he went outside early in the morning to find that his two cars in the driveway had been raided of valuables.
"The things we can't replace ... is the hard part," he said. "Some power tools were taken out of my truck, along with some very personal items from my deceased mother. Her driver's license."
Just minutes before figuring out what was gone, he had seen a woman in her mid 20s, with brown hair and wearing black. She said 'hi' to him and jumped in what Kihlstrom said was a distinctive old black BMW — possibly early 1980s, and with a chrome bumper.
Upset over what had happened, Kihlstrom went for coffee and a smoke.
The things we can't replace ... is the hard part ... some very personal items from my deceased mother.
–Chad Kihlstrom
"I took the back road one road down," he said. "And I ran into the same young lady parked in front of some of my neighbors' houses, and I see some silhouettes in the vehicle."
They left, and Kihlstrom tried to follow, but they got away.
"To know I was right on top of 'em and to find out that half my street and half my entire local area got hit last night is disturbing for me," he said.
Police said whoever is responsible went after the same things over and over: GPS units, iPods, computers and driver licenses.
"There were nine residents that complained of their vehicles being burglarized, with a total of 16 cars," said Sgt. Susan Poulsen with the Davis County Sherrif's Office.
Though Kihlstrom said there may have been more suspects, sheriff's deputies are only confirming the one woman he actually saw. They're telling people to be smart: locking the doors is an obvious first step.
"These types of crimes are on the increase every year, but it seems as the years go on, there's a little bit more," Poulsen said. "And so just to take precautions with their belongings."
