PITTSFIELD – At least eight cars and other vehicles have been stolen in the last two weeks in the Pittsfield-Hartland-St. Albans-Palmyra area, prompting police to warn owners to lock up their vehicles.

“None of them are coming back undamaged,” Somerset Deputy Niles Bowman said Sunday. “And every single one of them had the keys inside.”

Bowman said the most recent theft happened early Sunday in St. Albans. The car was recovered on Weeks Road in Palmyra, where it was abandoned when it got a flat tire. “Less than one mile away, they stole another,” Bowman said. The second car was taken from White’s Pond Road.

Only two of the cars have been recovered in the past two weeks.

“They steal them, drive them until they get stuck or break down, and then go find another,” Maine State Police Trooper Christopher Carr said Sunday.

“There are some ATVs still missing and a dirt bike from Hartland,” he said.

Bowman cautioned residents to lock their vehicles and put locks on sheds and garages.

“They are just out there joyriding, having fun at someone else’s expense,” he said

In addition, if anyone in a rural area spots one or more people out walking at an inappropriate hour, the police should be immediately notified, Bowman said.

Sgt. Timothy Roussin of the Pittsfield Police Department also said that removing car keys is vital.

“They are sneaking up to homes in the dark, stealing the cars and riding them all around,” he said. “It’s almost like they are playing that new video game, ‘Grand Theft Auto’.”

Roussin said along with stolen cars, car burglaries are on the rise. “I can’t say it enough: Lock your cars,” he said.

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