Two men were arrested after police say they stole a car, abandoned it, then apparently returned to retrieve personal items they'd left behind.
The incident began about 7 p.m. Thursday at the Douglas Trail head near 41st Street, where a woman had left her car while riding her bicycle on the trail.
A witness told officers they saw three males enter the vehicle and drive away; the woman called police.
About 11 p.m., the stolen vehicle was found abandoned at a park in Stewartville, said Capt. John Sherwin. Law enforcement set up a perimeter of the area and a K-9 was brought in to track the suspects. Though the track was unsuccessful, while officers were still in the area, a vehicle attempted to enter the park.
A Minnesota State patrol officer stopped the vehicle, the report says, and noticed a key fob on the floor of the back seat that appeared to match the type used in the stolen vehicle. He also noted the smell of marijuana, Sherwin said.
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A search of the car that had been stolen, then abandoned, turned up some personal property the alleged thieves had apparently left behind, the report says.
That included a police citation that carried the name of one of the men in the vehicle that had tried to enter the park, Sherwin said.
The stolen car also held a shotgun — cased in the trunk, the report says, but there's evidence someone had been handling the weapon. The alleged thieves had gone through the car owner's purse and thrown it into the trunk, Sherwin said.
The Post-Bulletin typically doesn't identify suspects until they've been charged.
