12/08/17 – Pine City, MN – Pine County Sheriff’s Office Unmarked Patrol Car Stolen From Sheriff’s Office Parking Lot – Spare Key Hidden In Car Was Used – Captured

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From the Pine County Sheriff’s Office:

On 12/08/17 at about 4:30 PM it was discovered that an unmarked squad car belonging to the Pine County Sheriff’s Office had been stolen from the parking lot. A possible suspect was quickly identified. A deputy and investigator with Pine County went to the suspects residence near Pine City and located the stolen vehicle parked behind his house. The suspect was located later the same evening returning to his house and was taken in to custody without incident.

The stolen squad car was believed to have been locked when parked but may have accidentally been left unlocked. The suspect had located a spare key kept in the vehicle to drive it off. No weapons were kept in the car and nothing was found to be missing from the vehicle when recovered.

We use this story as a reminder to all to be sure your vehicle is secured before leaving it. Those who use a “key fob” to secure their vehicles doors should ensure that the locks have engaged when leaving the vehicle. All hidden spare keys from Sheriff’s Office vehicles have now also been removed. Citizens who keep spare keys in their cars may wish to remove them as well.