ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512220053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
IT'S THE SECOND TIME in less than two weeks that a stolen vehicle from the Roanoke Valley has been found in Radford.
Police want to know how a stolen car from Roanoke County ended up in the pool at the Radford city park.
Or, to be precise, on the pool - the frozen pool.
A resident spotted the car just before 6 a.m. Thursday and called police.
A crane had to be used to remove the 1993 Mercury minivan from the pool. It had been driven through a chain-link fence, then skidded across the iced-over pool, said Capt. Gary Harmon.
The ice was not broken, and the minivan landed upright and apparently unscathed, although the crane used to remove it may have caused some minor damage.
Harmon said damage to the fence was estimated at $3,000.
"The owners didn't even know it was gone until we called them," he said. The keys were inside the vehicle.
The car was taken from the home of a couple who live in the Bent Mountain section of Roanoke County.
An investigation into the theft continues.
It's the second time in less than two weeks that a stolen Roanoke Valley vehicle has ended up in Radford. On Dec. 12, police found a car that had been stolen from the Roanoke Wal-Mart parking lot and ditched on Park Road at the old Radford incinerator property.
It's not clear whether the thefts are related, or why cars are stolen in Roanoke and ditched in Radford with nothing damaged or taken from them.
But Harmon hazards a guess that the thieves "may be in Roanoke and not have a ride home."
LENGTH: Short : 41 linesby CNB