Porter Police say a vehicle that was stolen early Wednesday afternoon was recovered about three hours later in Starke County, after a Sheriff’s Deputy executed a traffic stop on it.
According to the Porter Police Department, a resident of the 1300 block of Berg Street reported that his Volkswagen Passat had just been stolen from his driveway by a male and a female. The victim advised that the keys to the car had been left on a table outside the house next to the front door and that he and his mother had been going in and out all day with no problems until from inside the house he saw the couple in the car backing out of the driveway.
The victim’s neighbor said that earlier she had been sitting inside her own car, in her own driveway, when she was surprised to be approached by the suspects. She said the suspects seemed to be startled when they saw her inside and then started asking questions.
Three hours later, however, the PPD was advised by the Starke County Sheriff’s Police that the stolen vehicle had been located and that its occupants, an 18-year-old male and a 16-year-old female, both Chicago residents, both admitted stealing it. The reason for the traffic stop was the male subject had been reported to be driving recklessly, and the license plate had been bent to make reading its number difficult.
The two advised the Starke County deputy that they had left Chicago the night before and walked all the way to Porter, Ind., where they stole the vehicle.
Despite the initial statement that they ‘walked’ to Porter, it was later stated that they received rides and were dropped off in the area of the fireworks store and truck stops on U.S. 20. The male was transported to Porter County Jail; the female, to the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center.