RIALTO, CA — Police are looking for a thief who stole a Rialto police squad car then abandoned it near a golf course Thursday afternoon.

Officers found the patrol car about 1 1/2 miles and three hours after it disappeared, albeit with the car's 12-gauge shotgun missing from its rack.

Rialto police began an intensive search for the car after it was reported stolen about 11:50 a.m. in the 2200 block of North Sycamore Avenue. Sgt. Robert Cross said the officer left the car running, the keys inside, while he interviewed a family regarding a death investigation.

Some time between 30 minutes and an hour after the officer entered the family's house, the car was stolen, Cross said.

"Somebody came in and told him that his car was gone," Cross said.

The officer, who has worked for Rialto Police Department for eight years, said the vehicle was locked. Officers routinely leave their cars locked with the engine running to keep power flowing to their electronic equipment inside, Cross said.

Officers keep an extra key with them, Cross said.

The Ford Crown Victoria was discovered near El Rancho Verde Golf Course in an unincorporated area of Rialto by a golfer who noticed the patrol car abandoned near a construction site. The golfer called police when he got home after hearing a radio news report about the missing squad car, Cross said.

San Bernardino County sheriff's crime lab officials poured over the vehicle Thursday, looking for clues that might lead them to the thief. The stolen semi-automatic shotgun -- which had Rialto PD etched onto its stock -- was secured by an electronic lock that was deactivated by the thief, Cross said.

Cross, who has worked for the department 20 years, said he couldn't recall such an incident happening before.

"I don't remember a police car ever being stolen from us," Cross said.