A car and a stereo were stolen from a Eureka auto body shop after someone apparently broke into a lock box and stole keys customers had dropped off when they left vehicles at the business. A 2017 Hyundai Elantra was stolen, but was later recovered. In addition, a Dual Electronics stereo worth about $130 was stolen from a 1995 Ford Bronco left at the business, Eureka Police reported.
The thefts occurred between about 5 p.m. March 30 and 5:45 a.m. March 31 at Selbert’s Autobody, 410 W. Fourth St., after someone pried open the lock box and took several envelopes containing keys to vehicles left there. The cost to repair the box was estimated to be $200, the report said.
At about 5:45 p.m., an employee showed up and found an envelope on the ground that contained a key to a pickup. A short time later, the employee realized the lockbox had been broken into and all the keys had been stolen, according to the report.
However, three envelopes containing keys were found in the Bronco, and the theft of the stereo from that SUV was discovered. After that, the theft of the Elantra was discovered. The Elantra owner had dropped the car off at about 8:15 p.m. March 30, Eureka Police reported.
The Elantra was recovered April 7 in St. Louis County. It was in operating condition and was returned to the owner, the report said.
As of Monday (April 12), the stereo had not been recovered, and no suspects had been identified, Lt. Michael Werges said. He asks anyone with information about the incident to call Eureka Police at 636-938-6600.