HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Lake area has been the target of multiple night time thefts from unlocked vehicles over the past week, the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Thursday.

Since late Sunday evening and the early hours of Monday morning, deputies have either responded to, or discovered during their patrols, as many as 20 incidents of theft or attempted theft from vehicles in the residential subdivision, according to Capt. James Bauman.

Virtually all of the incidents of intrusion, theft, or tampering occurred to vehicles that had been left unlocked, Bauman said.

Bauman said investigations into the rash of intrusions began early Monday morning just after midnight, when a resident on Donkey Hill Road reported hearing noises outside of his home and then discovered the driver’s side doors of both his vehicles had been left open by apparent thieves. An iPod was the only loss at that home.

Soon after clearing the Donkey Hill Road incident, deputies were dispatched to a home on Maple Leaf Court for a similar incident in which the victim discovered his driver’s door standing open, however nothing had been stolen, Bauman said.

Throughout the morning, deputies patrolled the area and while no leads or suspects were located, Bauman said deputies did locate several more vehicles with opened doors in the areas of Powder Horn Road and Mountain Meadow North, which had obviously been gone through by the suspects.

The following night, deputies responded to several more reports of theft or attempted theft from unlocked vehicles in the Hidden Valley Lake areas of Fishhook Court, Spur Court and Spyglass Road, he said.

This particular rash of thefts and vehicle intrusions appears to be focused on the Hidden Valley Lake area, Bauman said.

However, he added that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office strongly encourages citizens residing anywhere to always keep their vehicles and homes locked when unattended no matter the hour of the day.

He said Hidden Valley Lake residents should be particularly diligent with security measures, given the recent rash of vehicle intrusions there.

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