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Truck thieves strike again at Lee County hotel

Posted at 10:26 PM, May 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-12 22:26:16-04

Thieves struck again at a hotel in Estero.

A man woke up to find his Ford F-350 truck along with his power tools stolen from the Hampton Inn parking lot.

"The Ford F-150 to the F-350s are third most stolen vehicles in the country right now," said Walt Zalisko, a retired police chief from up north.

The stolen F-350 pickup the latest theft in Estero.

"There have been over 100 cars targeted since christmas here," said Zalisko.

He says the whole process can happen in a flash.

"Lot of times these thieves are going to drive around and look for the right vehicle and it'll only take them 30 seconds to get inside and drive away," he added.

Thieves targeted the 1999 white F-350 not only because the parts are sought after, but also the pricey power tools inside.

"It wouldn't be easy to remove it off his truck, so it was just easier to take the whole thing and disassemble everything once they get to the point they wanted to go," said Zalisko.

Luckily for the man in this case, Lee County Sheriff deputies were able to locate his F-350, but not his tools. Thieves made off with almost 30 thousand dollars worth of heavy duty tools.

Experts recommends you park in well lit areas and don't leave any valuables in the car. Installing GPS in your car can be another security measure in order to track and locate your car if it is stolen.