Police investigating vehicle theft from Walmart
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (April 27, 2023) – Detectives have been trying to figure out who stole an SUV from the Walmart parking lot and abandoned it near Newcomerstown.
The owner reported the theft around 2:45 Wednesday afternoon, telling police she couldn’t find the vehicle or its keys, which she may have taken out of her purse and left on a counter.
State troopers came across the stolen vehicle almost four hours later parked along Smith Hill Road near the Marlatt Road intersection. It was towed back to the city to be searched and has since been returned to the owner.
New Philadelphia Police Captain Ty Norris says the thief didn’t leave anything that they could find but appears to have made off with an envelope full of money the woman tucked behind a mirror. Nothing else seemed to have been taken, and there was no obvious damage to the vehicle.
Detectives were gathering surveillance video from the store Thursday morning in hopes of identifying the culprit.