By admin 
YUMA (AZFamily) — The weather may be heating up, but that hasn’t stopped people from hitting the trails at mountain parks and more remote areas of the state. In Yuma County, however, deputies say trailheads can also attract thieves.
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At Telegraph Pass, east of Yuma, the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office says there has been a recent spike in vehicle burglaries. Deputies say suspects often wait until hikers head out on the trail, then break into cars left behind at the trailhead.
“We wanted to make the community aware that these incidents have been occurring recently,” said Tania Pavlak with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.
Pavlak said locking your vehicle is important, but it may not prevent someone from breaking in.
“But also, there have been vehicles that have been broken into — so even though you lock your vehicle, we encourage people not to leave valuables in the car,” she said.
The sheriff’s office says that over the past two weeks it has received multiple reports of cars being broken into and valuables stolen. Officials say the incidents appear to happen most often in the mornings, when more hikers are arriving and leaving vehicles unattended.
“With the last couple of years, we have seen an influx of transients that are right on the side of the road,” Pavlak added.
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Hiker Charlie Quintero said he comes to Telegraph Pass to relax and enjoy the scenery, but the recent break-ins have made people think twice.
“If anything, it’s just getting worse and worse, which is kind of unfortunate,” Quintero said. “It looks bad for the area and then people have that in the back of their head like, are my things safe?”
Experts say the best defense is to not leave anything of value in your car — and to make it obvious there is nothing worth taking. That includes cleaning off seats and not leaving clutter visible inside the vehicle, since even small items can make it look like there may be valuables hidden.
The sheriff’s office urges hikers to remove valuables before arriving, lock doors, close windows and report suspicious activity right away.
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