Cars, lost and found.

Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard

In just eight days, two of Matt Callahan's cars were stolen.

The Portland native, who had just moved to Eugene, got a dubious welcome when his parents' Nissan pickup vanished on Friday, April 13. But he was laid flat when his Acura Integra disappeared from the same lot at 29th Avenue and Willamette Street a little over a week later.

`At this point, I'm in utter disbelief,' said Callahan, 22. `Two cars stolen in eight days, this is unheard of. I was almost laughing about it, thinking `This is insane.' '

But the greatest shock, he said, came a week later, after he had abandoned all hope of seeing either car again: Both were found within 36 hours of each other. In good condition.

That Callahan and his cars were reconnected was no surprise to Eugene police: More than 85 percent of the 1,196 vehicles reported stolen last year were recovered, about 26 percent higher than the national average, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit organization that fights insurance fraud and vehicle theft.

In fact, most Eugene victims get their cars back within two weeks - 11 1/2 days is the average.

Though police rarely catch the criminals - just more than 8 percent of thefts in Eugene resulted in arrests last year - the majority of the cars they steal are found, Eugene police Detective Dennis Doe said.

That's because local thieves generally aren't interested in parts - they want to pawn the laptops, iPods and backpacks they find inside, Doe said.

They typically drive to a spot where they can comb through the contents and leave the car behind without being noticed.

"A lot of vehicles can be recovered within five to 10 blocks," he said. "They just need to get out of sight from the residence it was stolen from so they can steal what's in it."

Doe advises victims to search the area where their car was stolen, he said. They just might find it themselves.

The best places to start are the neighborhoods where cars are most likely to be swiped - west University, downtown, Bethel, Whiteaker and University Commons - as those are the places police also find many stolen cars, Doe said.

Apartment complexes and grocery store parking lots also host an abundance of abandoned autos, "because there's so many people there that (thieves) don't look out of place when they pull up and walk away," he said.

Doe credits the department's "exceptional recovery rate" to a handful of officers and volunteers from the senior patrol program, who scour the city looking for license plates that appear on the "hot sheet" - a list of vehicles reported stolen in the past 21 days in Lane County. The volunteer help is essential because officers rarely have time to check plates, he said.

It was, however, police officers who found both of Callahan's cars, Callahan said.

Callahan's 1992 Nissan pickup and 1990 Acura Integra are among the top 10 most stolen cars in Eugene, a list led by the 1991 Honda Accord.

His truck was in an alley near 15th Avenue and High Street, Callahan said. The only damage was to the ignition switch, but his backpack and cell phone were gone.

The battery of his Acura was dead, and his leather jacket was gone by the time officers spotted it near East 23rd Avenue.

Callahan is not taking any chances from now on. "The day I got my Integra recovered, I went out and got a Club (anti-theft device)," said Callahan, who still drives his Acura.

Eugene resident Jim Wilson's 1989 Toyota Camry wagon went a bit farther after it was taken from his driveway in the Whiteaker neighborhood two years ago.

It was nearly six miles away, in the River Road area, when police using the hot sheet found it about a week later, he said. The only pilfered items were clothes intended for donation to Goodwill and one shoe.

"It wasn't trashed. My guess is that they just took it for the clothes," Wilson said. "And there was a waffle iron in there, so we got some stuff."

Though drivers usually get their cars back, arrest rates remain low, because workloads are so heavy that detectives only can pursue the cases that have leads - which are sometimes difficult to establish, Doe said.

Police search every car for fingerprints and clues, but they don't always find them, he said.

Thieves also work in loose teams, sharing shaved keys and breaking into cars in the same way, making it difficult to tie any individual to a series of thefts.

"We're lucky to get them for 10 out of 100," Doe said.

Though police don't keep statistics about where thieves are nabbed, most of those arrested for the crime are caught in the act, Doe said.

"The bottom line is: People who commit crimes need to get from point A to point B," he said.

1,196

Cars reported stolen in Eugene in 2006, a total value estimated at $5.7 million

85.2%

Local recovery rate. The national recovery rate is 62.1%

8.36%

Local arrest rate. The national

arrest rate is 13%

Sources: Eugene Police Department, National Insurance Crime Bureau

DON'T GET RIPPED OFF

Detective Dennis Doe offers these tips to thwart car thieves:

Don't leave anything inside your car that would tempt a thief. Doe said he has seen a window smashed for a pair of sunglasses. "It's not what's significant to us, but what's significant to people looking inside," he said.

Police have seen an increasing number of burglaries where thieves have stolen garage door openers or keys from the car.

"Quit believing it's OK to start the car in the driveway and run back inside," he said. Stealing a car takes only seconds.

Putting aftermarket accessories on your car - such as a spoiler, expensive rims or stereo - makes you a target. Record serial numbers of parts.

If you see your stolen car, don't touch it. Police need to process it for evidence, and if it's still reported stolen, you may be stopped at gunpoint. If it's on the road, call 911.