The most common reason for auto theft is to use the vehicle to get to another crime scene. That’s what police have long said, and that’s what we’ve seen in practice so many times – a vehicle caught in security video turns out to have been stolen somewhere else. Such was the case with this pickup:

A texter sent that photo early Wednesday morning, noting “Dumped and stolen. Police and tow truck have come and gone.” It had been abandoned on SW Trenton near Westwood Village. Turns out the pickup, a 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel, had been spotted just before noon Tuesday by someone else near Lincoln Park, casing and then breaking the window of a van parked on Fauntleroy:

They gave the plate number to police, who confirmed that checked to a stolen pickup. Through social media, the car-prowl witness later found out it was stolen in Normandy Park, and eventually connected with the owner. After getting word of the truck’s recovery, the owner told the witness that the truck was trashed inside and that a locked toolbox in the back had been drilled open. Missing items include new Milwaukee tools and $1,500 in blinds that had been picked up for a customer – so please speak up if you happen to see items like those dumped anywhere. (The car-prowl witness also has made contact with the van’s owner, so they know what happened.)