BROWNSVILLE, PA – On Feb. 11, an employee of Pennsylvania Settlement Service left his company car running outside a residence to warm it up, according to The Valley Independent newspaper. When he went back outside to check whether the 2001 Mazda 626 sedan was warm, the vehicle was missing, according to state police at Belle Vernon.

This type of occurrence is more common in inclement weather, according to Michelle Staton, executive director of the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority. In fact, Staton said that occurrences have become so common that the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle code permits individual municipalities to cite people for leaving their vehicles idling and unattended.

The National Crime Prevention Council in Washington, D.C., also warns that vehicles should never be left running unlocked and unattended.

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