PINE TOWNSHIP | A Michigan City woman's pickup truck on Tuesday became the latest broken into at the Calumet Trail recreation site.
The 24-year-old woman told Porter County Sheriff's Department investigators she parked her truck in the lot along County Line Road around 3 p.m. and went for a 45-minute jog on the 9-mile trail between Porter and Michigan City.
When she returned to her truck, she found the rear window broken out with a brick and her purse missing.
The woman said she's parked at the trail numerous times without incident, but told officers as she headed on the trail Tuesday, she noticed a backpack and a whiskey bottle near the entrance. She also said she's seen what she believes to be a homeless man hanging around the trail at times.
Authorities have responded to about a dozen car break-in reports at the trail this summer, in each instance purses, wallets and electronics were taken from vehicles.
A covered bridge built along the trail a decade ago also has repeatedly sustained vandalism, forcing officials in June to look at possibly moving the bridge to a less-secluded location.
Police advise drivers not to leave purses and wallets in plain view when leaving their vehicles unattended, and if possible not to leave them in the car at all.
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