As Iowans experience a frigid bout of winter, motorists may be starting their vehicles ahead of time to warm them up before hitting the road. But those less fortunate may be eager to jump in an unlocked running vehicle as well.

Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright says leaving an unlocked car unattended, even to warm it up can be like rolling the dice during winter, “By all means if you can start your car and lock it and keep it locked while it’s running, sometimes you can’t do that with vehicles because the key’s in the ignition and you don’t have another way of locking it. But I would be always careful on starting cars and leaving them run or leaving them run in parking lots if you run into a store to do shopping because it is an opportunity for someone to just jump in the vehicle and take off.”

Arganbright adds that this type of car theft doesn’t happen very often in the County, but he urges people to be wary of what could happen when you least expect it. Drivers are encouraged to layer up and allow enough time to sit in their car while it warms up, carry an extra set of keys to lock your car, or use an automatic starter.