Police: OBX car break-ins on the rise

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (AP) - Police on North Carolina's Outer Banks have seen more vehicle and residential break-ins this winter than usual and thieves were primarily after electronic devices.

Police up and down the string of barrier islands on the state's northern coast reported that break-ins and thefts have been rising, the Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported Friday.

Kill Devil Hills police said the thefts are more like those that happen in the summer, when there are more people in the resort area. Police say no one has been arrested.

Kill Devil Hills Detective John Towler said there have been more than 40 thefts from unlocked vehicles since January. He says there have been some break-ins of unoccupied houses.

"There's no pattern," Towler said. "There's no center point."

On Hatteras Island, Dare County Chief Deputy Sheriff Phillip Etheridge said the past 12 months have been the worst he's seen in 24 years as a deputy.

Etheridge said a supermarket in Wanchese was broken into three times since January and that flat-screen television sets had been stolen from eight houses in the village of Avon.

Last weekend, seven vehicles within walking distance of each other were hit on Hatteras Island, he said.

Manteo police Chief Vance said the town had a problem with vehicle break-ins, but it was stopped temporarily when a man was caught in the act. The chief said he doesn't believe thefts are over.

"The way times are, with people hurting for jobs," Haskett said, "I'm expecting things to increase."