$5,000-plus was stolen from Bluffton vehicles over the weekend. 2 of 3 cars were unlocked

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received three reports of breaking and entering into motor vehicles on Saturday in Bluffton. The value of the weekend’s stolen possessions totals over $5000.

One resident reported approximately $2,000 in cash stolen from her spare wallet, while another had a purse stolen containing $3,000 in cash.

Of the three cars broken into, two were left unlocked, said Maj. Bob Bromage, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office. He advises drivers to always lock their vehicles when left unattended.

Saturday’s reports continue Beaufort County’s rising trends of thefts from motor vehicles. Early last year, police reported a “rash” of break-ins, with Hilton Head alone seeing 92 break-ins from November 2020 to January 2021. Sixty-six of those break-ins involved unlocked cars.

And the wave of thefts has continued into 2022. At least 16 cars were broken into over the New Year’s holiday, costing residents several guns and thousands in cash.

Breaking and entering into a motor vehicle is a “crime of opportunity,” Bromage said, and one of the quickest crimes to commit.

“Subjects responsible will pull on doors until they find one open, and then, of course, rifle through the car,” Bromage said. “The vast majority are unlocked.”

Many of these break-ins involve the theft of personal firearms, which are then often used in violent crimes. Bromage said firearms should never be stored in vehicles.