Hilton Head residents report at least 12 vehicle break-ins in the past week, police say
At least 12 cars, many from within gated communities on Hilton Head, were broken into or attempts were made to enter them over the last two weeks, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Here’s the rundown:
▪ On Feb. 3 before 8 a.m. at least four cars were broken into, a Hilton Head homeowner on St. John’s Place within the Shipyard gated community reported. The unlocked cars were parked in the driveway of the home and two wallets, an Apple computer and cash were stolen, police said. An Apple AirTag, a tracking device that was inside one of the wallets listed its last location as being near New Orleans Road. When police went to the area, they did not find anything, the report said.
▪ On Feb. 4 just before 3 a.m., a woman reported to police she heard a loud noise outside of her apartment on Gum Tree Road. She saw a man trying to break into her car where her wallet was sitting in the passenger side seat and had money in it that was visible, police said. The woman tried to scare off the man by banging on the window and when she walked away to call police, she heard a sledgehammer crash through the window that had been hurled by the man, according to Maj. Angela Viens, a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
▪ On Feb. 5 before 10 a.m., a woman on Wicklow Drive in Wexford Plantation, a waterfront community on the island, called police to report that her unlocked car had been broken into and rifled through, police said. The woman told police that a purse worth $2,900, several credit cards and $230 in cash had been stolen from the backseat of the car. About $3,930 worth of other items also were stolen, she told the deputies. Two nearby cars were entered but minimal items were missing.
▪ Also on Feb. 5, a resident within the same community who lives on Bridgetown Road, about four minutes away, reported that his car was broken into though nothing was stolen. Another couple, who also live on Bridgetown Road, told police that someone had gone into their unlocked car and took two sunglasses worth a total of $350 and $20 in change.
▪ A father reported to police on Feb. 5 that his son had a sleepover with several friends the night before and the boys forgot to close the garage doors and did not lock their cars. Around 6 a.m., the father got a notification via his Ring Doorbell, a video doorbell system, of an unknown person in his garage, police said in the report. Two North Face bookbags were stolen along with two school computers and about $250 in cash. Taken from at least one of the friends’ cars was about $900 in cash and two guns. The guns were found near the community clubhouse on Feb. 5 by security police, the report said.
The best way to ward off potential thieves is to lock your car doors and keep valuables out of sight or inside your homes, Viens said Thursday. As for confronting anyone in your driveway, Viens said she would caution against doing that and instead turn on any outdoor lights.
“Nine times out of 10, turning on outside lights will scare someone off,” she said. “And then they should call 911 immediately.”
This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 3:22 PM.
