On April 23 at 3:30 A.M., a Big Sky High School student’s car was broken into and multiple valuables were stolen, according to law enforcement.
Items stolen included a bluetooth speaker and the students’ school backpack, which contained the student’s notes for every class, their school computer, and all of their writing utensils. The investigation is still ongoing and the thief is yet to be arrested, police said.
The victim, a junior at Big Sky, said that they left their car in the student parking lot overnight while on a school field trip. Their speaker and bag were left in view from the outside of the vehicle. The car was locked, but that didn’t prevent the individual from smashing through the right side back seat window before leaving on a bicycle, law enforcement said, according to the parking lot camera footage.
When asked about the recent car break-in, Big Sky School Resource Officer (SRO) Christian Cameron said, “We do see a lot of thefts around Missoula in general that involve valuables in a vehicle, whether it’s locked or not.”
Between 2022 and 2024, general thefts in Missoula, Montana have increased by 5.8%, according to NBC News.
Officer Cameron offered a few suggestions on how to best prevent this from happening, and his message was simple.
“Be vigilant, if you have belongings in your vehicle, especially if you’re gonna leave it parked unattended for a while, either remove those items or keep them out of plain sight,” Cameron said.
He emphasized the importance of this plain sight rule, as thieves are looking for easy targets and visible items. So, leaving things like electronics, bags, or purses can make your vehicle a prime target for a “smash and grab” theft, Cameron said.
He also noted that an easy method to keep valuables out of plain sight is to place them underneath your car seat. This way, even when a thief peeks into the vehicle from the outside, they are less likely to see any valuable items.
As previously stated, the investigation into the April 23 car break-in is still ongoing. But, Cameron is confident in the identification of the suspect, although he was unable to name them, due to them being a repeat offender.
