Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Car stolen in Tower recovered unharmed

Jodi Summit
Posted 2/3/21

TOWER- Leaving unattended cars running in the cold of winter is a rather common occurrence in these parts; just check out the Zup’s parking lot any day the temperature hovers below single …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Car stolen in Tower recovered unharmed

Posted

TOWER- Leaving unattended cars running in the cold of winter is a rather common occurrence in these parts; just check out the Zup’s parking lot any day the temperature hovers below single digits.
But leaving your car to warm up a few minutes in your driveway can also be an invitation to someone to break the law.
“Leaving a car unlocked with the keys in it leads to crimes of opportunity,” said Breitung Police Chief Dan Nylund. “Though there isn’t a state law that prohibits it.”
Car thefts are an uncommon crime in Tower-Soudan, and Nylund couldn’t remember any examples except for several years ago when a couple of vehicles were stolen from a hangar at the airport.
But on Tuesday, Jan. 26, John Zaitz started his car and left it to warm up for a few minutes in the driveway of his son’s house on North Second Street. When he went back outside to drive it home, it was gone. At first Zaitz thought maybe a friend who lived across the alley had played a joke on him and moved his 2008 Ford Escape. But soon he realized the car was actually gone, after following the tire tracks which swerved down the alley, almost hitting a utility pole, before heading towards Main Street.
After calling 911, Zaitz was contacted by the Breitung Police, who noted they were attempting to locate someone who was intoxicated in that area and wondered if the two were somehow related. Attempts by area law enforcement to locate the car were initially unsuccessful, but the car was found abandoned the next day near a vacant home on the Vermilion Reservation, locked without the keys inside.
“The car was all in one piece,” said Zaitz, “and there was no damage except the missing set of car keys.”
Breitung Police took fingerprints off the car, but Zaitz hadn’t heard if the results were back yet.
For now, Zaitz said, he is keeping his car out of sight and off the road, worried that whoever stole the car may still have the keys and attempt to take it again. He said he is looking into having a new set of keys made if the missing keys are not recovered soon.