SILVERTHORNE — Residents around the county should remember to keep their car doors locked after one or more thieves made their way through a neighborhood in Silverthorne on Wednesday night.
A couple of residents in the Solarado neighborhood in Silverthorne — at the end of West Anemone Trail behind Dillon Dam Brewery — woke up to a rude surprise early Thursday after discovering a car was stolen and others had been burglarized.
Scott Plummer, who just moved into the neighborhood, said a neighbor knocked on his door at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday to inform him someone had burglarized his vehicle. Upon inspection, Plummer said the doors and back hatch on his truck were left open, and his tools were stolen from inside.
“It’s a shame,” Plummer said. “I’ve been up here almost 20 years, and I lived in multiple places where I didn’t even have a key. Unfortunately, things change.”
In addition to Plummer’s car, Silverthorne Police Chief John Minor said three other cars on the block were entered and another car was stolen. All four cars were unlocked, and the stolen vehicle was unlocked with the keys inside.
“Almost every vehicle break-in we have is because people leave their vehicles unlocked, and people leave valuables in their car,” Minor said. “Most of our stolen vehicles are because people leave their keys in their car and their vehicle unlocked. So if you don’t want to be a victim of this type of crime, it’s pretty easy to prevent.”
Minor continued to say that the thefts appear to have been isolated to the Solarado neighborhood and that no similar break-ins were reported in other areas.
Dillon Police Chief Mark Heminghous said no similar crimes were reported in Dillon on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
“This happens periodically throughout Summit County all the time,” Minor said. “But last night, it was isolated, as far as we know, to that one neighborhood. It looks like a crime of opportunity, but we still have some follow-up to do.”
Anyone with information about the crime should call the Silverthorne Police Department at 970-262-7320.
“I’m just disappointed in whoever did this,” Plummer said. “It’s disappointing, and it’s frustrating … but in the grand scheme of things, it could be worse. Nobody got hurt.”