Eagan Police Issue Warning To Residents After String Of Garage Burglaries

EAGAN, Minn. (WCCO) – Eagan Police are warning residents about a string of garage burglaries.

WCCO's Kate Raddatz shares what you can do to protect your home.

The vast majority of garage thefts happen because the homeowner forgets to close the door, but in this case, the thieves got into the inside from the outside.

Dan and his wife woke up Monday morning and noticed something in the garage was missing. Not one, but both of their vehicles had been stolen.

"Doors open when I come down and of course we're thinking oh we left the door open," Dan said.

But they didn't.

Eagan Police say the thieves used tools to reach into the garage through the top of the door and then yanked the cord to release the garage door from its track. Police say this is no secret to thieves, but Dan had left the keys in the cars.

"It's really any garage windows or no windows, they just need the ability to get their tool inside," Aaron Machtemes with Eagan Police said.

One easy way to protect yourself is by using a basic zip tie as an extra break to make it harder to release the door. In an emergency, you could still pull down hard enough on the cord to release the door.

"Or even remove the cord completely and there's a lot of aftermarket products you can use on your garage to keep it safe," Machtemes added.

Dan's gotten back one of his vehicles that the thieves ditched, but the other is still missing. He says he'll use the zip tie and keep his keys inside the house from now on.

"Hard lesson," Dan said. "If you find a Chryster 200, hardtop, white leather interior, my wife would be very happy to see it again."

Eagan Police say they have made some arrests in the garage and vehicle break-ins, but it is still an active investigation.