Ever since the early days of man, crime has been a problem. It’s likely that it will always be a problem.

However, sometimes crime takes on strange forms. Take this story from my neck of the woods.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said the department is investigating a series of entering auto incidents in one neighborhood, and they’re working to find the suspects immediately.

One family said one case is different from most — for over a month their vehicle was taken every night and brought back to their home.

The family said they didn’t realize it until recently.

“I come outside and look in the driveway and sure enough the vehicle was gone,” said Tim Rogers, a member of the family and Lee County resident.

On that Sunday, the Albany Police Department called Rogers and told him that they’d found his vehicle at an apartment complex. That wasn’t all they learned.

Rogers added he was told by officers that witnesses said the vehicle had been seen at an apartment complex in Albany three to four times a week for a month, but oddly it was back in his driveway every morning.

…

“At least they were nice enough to bring it back so my wife could use it the next day,” Rogers said. “So, I guess we was just sharing the vehicle with them.”

In other words, the thief took the car, drove it for the night, then returned it the next morning.

Rogers noted that his wife doesn’t drive all that much, so she never paid attention to the odometer reading, thus missed the bizarre use of their vehicle.

By now, some of you are asking how does something like this happen.

Well, for one thing, they kept the keys in the car with the door unlocked. They trusted that their low-crime neighborhood was a safe place to do such a thing.

It turns out it wasn’t.

Luckily, the car was in good condition, and there weren’t any issues when they recovered it, which isn’t surprising. After all, if the thief were “borrowing” the car–something I could easily see someone justifying in their mind–they wouldn’t mess it up with escapades.

Folks, let me tell you that no matter how low-crime your neighborhood is, it’s not no-crime. Don’t leave your cars unlocked. Don’t leave the keys in them. For the love of God, don’t leave your guns in them overnight either.

Further, if you have any suspicions about who is driving your neighbor’s car, don’t be afraid to ask them about it. “Hey, Bob, I noticed your wife’s car leaving out awfully late a few nights last week. Everything OK?”

It might be the first instance of them knowing something was going on.

Granted, I don’t think this is particularly common. How many car thieves are really just looking for you to share your car?

Still, it’s not a bad idea to keep an eye out for odd things, now is it?