Police say handbags were stolen from two cars parked Saturday afternoon near Waveny Pool.
The larcenies occurred some time between to 2 and 4 p.m. on Aug. 21, according to a press release issued by Police Chief Leon Krolikowski.
Both vehicles had been locked and were forcibly entered, Krolikowski said. The motor vehicles were parked next to each other.
Both of the handbags had COVID-19 vaccination cards, as well as driver’s licenses, cash and credit and debit cards, Krolikowski said. One of the handbags also had a health insurance card and house keys, according to the press release.
The larcenies are the latest in a string of thefts from motor vehicles at public parks in New Canaan, though the problem of cars left unlocked with valuables and even the keys inside has persisted for years. The Waveny thefts are among the first reported larcenies from cars parked in the popular park since security cameras were installed at the main South Avenue and Lapham Road entrances in February. It isn’t clear whether a camera also was installed at the driveway that leads to the parking area located between Waveny Pool and the platform tennis courts. (The camera installations followed an online petition launched by Hilary Ormond—a trial lawyer, Waveny user and New Canaan mom who also holds a master’s degree in forensic psychology and is seeking a seat on the Town Council—garnered more than 2,000 signatures following the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.)
Earlier on Saturday, police received a report that a 2018 BMW X5, unlocked with the key fob inside, had been stolen from a Hemlock Hill Road residence. BMW Assist located the SUV on North Main Street in Bristol, but the driver of the stolen vehicle evaded local police there. It was found the following morning in Meriden, police said.
On the evening of Aug. 20, police received a report that a 2008 Kymco Agility 504+ Scooter had been stolen from the parking lot at Canaan Parish. The scooter’s owner “stated the scooter’s tire was locked and the scooter was covered at the time it was stolen,” Krolikowski said in the press release. “The owner of the scooter had both sets of keys.”