Blytheville Police are investigating the theft of two vehicles over the weekend, one from an area car dealer, according to reports.
At 7:30 a.m. Saturday, officers, while on patrol, spotted a vehicle parked behind an abandoned house and investigated. The officer found the vehicle parked in some tall grass with tree limbs stacked in front of it, as if to hide the vehicle from public view, the report said.
There was no one around the vehicle at the time, so the officer ran the V.I.N. number of the car. It returned to a red 2009 Nissan Altima, belonging to Carlock Automotive of Blytheville. The vehicle was brand new and hadn't been purchased, the report said.
Carlock Automotive was then contacted, with Stacey Conley of the business saying that Carlock was having a vehicle sale on Thursday and was open later than usual for business.
Conley also said that no one had test driven the vehicle that day, but the keys were left in all the cars on the lot because of the sale. The police report also noted on the Altima's backseat was a Wal-Mart bag with cans of spray paint.
Officers then checked with Wal-Mart, who looked at security tapes and found two black males between the ages of 12 and 15, entering the store and purchasing the spray paint, then exiting the store, going west across Interstate 55, the report said. Carlock is located just west of Wal-Mart across Interstate 55.
The vehicle was returned to Carlock after investigators were done processing it, but the case still under investigation. The vehicle is valued at $27,845.
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Monday at 4:30 a.m., officers were called to the 700 block of East Walnut, where Jolene Watkins reported that her 2009 gray Ford Mustang was missing.
Watkins told police that she last seen the car at 9 p.m. Sunday. Watkins called her father, who told officers that the license plates on the car would come back to a 2001 Dodge Durango.
At 11:30 p.m. Sunday, there was a hit and run accident that took place at the drive thru of Taco Bell. The license plate that was given by the victim as the offending car, came back to Watkins vehicle, police said.
Police then issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for the car and driver. The vehicle was found later abandoned at the corner of Center and Main.
The vehicle is valued at $30,000.
rharris@blythevillecourier.com