Stolen Items Returned in Two Seperate Missoula County Theft Cases

This morning, headway was made on two Missoula theft cases after the goods were recovered in a surprising way. Missoula county Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Paige Pavalone describes one instance that occurred on Adelaide court in the Canyon Creek neighbor hood.

"They stole a kindle fire, an iPhone charger, and a laptop valued at about $1,000," said Pavalone. "[The items] were missing for about 24 hours and today we learned, in an updated report, that when the woman opened up her front door, her iPhone charger and her Kindle had been returned with a note from a local parent, who is anonymous right now, that said the items had been found on their kid."

The note also indicated that the stolen laptop would be returned shortly. It is likely the thefts were possible because the homeowner had dropped a set of keys in her driveway.

Another incident involved a white, 2005 Dodge Caravan that was stolen from a home in the Elmar estates area.

"The homeowner reported that the van was parked in their driveway and, sometime after 10:30 at night on July 22, someone had taken the van out of the driveway," Pavalone said. "Well, [the homeowner] just called 911 to report that [the van] had been to his driveway."

The van was likely returned around 6:30 on the morning of July 23.The van was returned in good condition and authorities are still investigating who perpetrated both crimes. There is still no immediate suspect in the case of the stolen van.