Another Vehicle Stolen from Out-of-the-Way Rocaton Road

Rocaton Road, not far from Darien Railroad Station, but still an out-of-the-way side street with only one outlet on to Leroy Road, has experienced its second theft of an unlocked vehicle this year, according to a police report.

Darien police described the latest incident with this account:

At 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19, a man working as a personal driver left his own SUV, a yellow 2005 Nissan Xterra unlocked in the driveway at 28 Rocaton Road, with the keys in the cup holder of the center console. The man returned at 6:30 a.m. to find his car missing.

• Overnight from Feb. 21 to 22, an unlocked car outside 15 Rocaton Road was stolen. Less than a week later, at about 8 p.m. on Feb. 27, it was found in Bridgeport. The car did not appear to be damaged, police said at the time it was found.

Police have said that unlocked cars typically have been stolen when groups of teenagers from urban communities in Connecticut have traveled to other towns, tried car handles up and down a street or in a neighborhood and stolen items from inside them.

When keys are found inside, cars are sometimes driven off, to be found later in cities, including Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Haven and Hartford.

While that’s typical, Darien teenagers have also been found trying car handles to find unlocked vehicles.

In Saturday’s Rocaton Road incident, no other unlocked vehicles were reported entered in the neighborhood, and when police asked neighbors, no other vehicle entries were discovered. No one told police they had seen, heard or knew of anything suspicious.

No other motor vehicle entries were reported from overnight Friday to Saturday morning in Darien, although there was one the previous overnight period (Thursday to Friday) and a slew of them the next night (Saturday to Sunday).

The police investigation is continuing.