Sheriff Doolittle: Lock your vehicles

With the recent temperatures dropping well be-low zero, local residents may have been letting their vehicles warm up unattended for a few minutes before leaving home. Jefferson County Sheriff Craig Doolittle said Tuesday that while this might have been something local residents could have done in the past, they should not do it anymore.

Doolittle said there have been two recent auto thefts in the Town of Whitehall, and stressed the importance of locking vehicles. He said during this time of year they will sometimes leave Sheriff's Department vehicles running, but they make sure they are locked and open them with a key fob.

He said the two thefts are currently under investigation, and that the office has also recovered several stolen vehicles. He said they found one in the Homestake Lake area, which seems to be a popular place for criminals to leave vehicles.

Doolittle also said it is good practice to always take valuables out of vehicles. He said that even if vehicles are locked, thieves will break a window if they see something of value.

He added to also make sure not to leave garage doors open.