Unlocked Car Stolen In Manalapan Jan. 18

MANALAPAN, NJ — The theft of unlocked cars continues to occur in Manalapan and throughout Monmouth County.

A 2018 Honda Accord was stolen from a Hampton Court home in Manalapan last Thursday night into Friday morning, Jan. 18, police reported.

The homeowner called police at 12:40 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18 to report the car was missing. It had been parked with the key fob inside, said police.

Before the Jan. 18 incident, the most recent car theft in Manalapan occurred Nov. 29, when a 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan had been left unlocked and was stolen from a Locust Grove Lane driveway. That was the fourth car to be stolen in Manalapan in October/November.

Just one week earlier, on Thursday, Oct. 23, a 2017 grey Mercedes Benz GLS was stolen from a Manalapan driveway. The exact street was not released by police. The car had been left with the key fob inside the vehicle, and it had been left unlocked, police said. The owner said it happened just before 11 p.m., when they saw two men walk up their driveway, get inside the car, start it and drive away.

Monmouth County is a fertile territory for car thieves, and thefts usually pick up over the summer: Eleven cars were stolen in Monmouth County this past June and July (2018), with thefts reported in Manalapan, Holmdel, Colts Neck, Rumson and Long Branch. Read that story: 11 Monmouth County Cars Stolen In June/July 2018

Ongoing reporting:

Unlocked Car Stolen From Manalapan Driveway Nov. 29

Two Cars Stolen In Manalapan Last Week (Oct. 23, 2018)

Photo of a key fob left inside a car by Carly Baldwin/Patch