EVANSTON — On Wednesday, Sept. 24, two vehicles were broken into in broad daylight during an otherwise busy and beautiful day at the Bear River State Park.  The burglaries occurred between 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. The initial incident was reported from the Bear River group shelter with the second occurring at the rendezvous group area.

“I truly believe that someone was watching,” said victim Ann Hampton. “I think they were targeting women, assuming they were leaving their purses in their cars.”

Hampton has never experienced crime during her 44 years as an Evanston resident.

“It’s not going to stop me from walking. That park is one of the most beautiful places we have here ... but I do feel violated.”

Hampton said that while the rest of her vehicle’s contents appeared undisturbed, the theft of her custom designer purse, a retirement gift from her daughter a couple of years ago, hurt deeply on a sentimental level. She credited Uinta County maintenance man Dan Mehl for helping her search the park’s trash cans in hopes of recovering the purse, though it never was.

“I’ve never had anything like this happen to me in this town — the state park is like our little safe haven,” said the second victim, Joni Hawks.  Hawks explained that she doesn’t want to frighten others or ruin the sanctity of the beloved park for anyone, but said, “I want everyone to be looking out for each other.  I’m not going to let it keep me from living my life, but this is a new thing for me.”

Hawks explained that while the incident was scary, she’s fortunate enough that this incident wasn’t devastating, “but it could be to someone else.”

When Hampton took her vehicle to Parnell’s Glass & Body Works, it was mentioned to her that they’ve recently seen an uptick in this type of repair from similar crimes.  Glass technician Pete Ezell told the Herald “it’s been rampant.  It’s happening to people that left things in plain sight.  We’ve had three [broken vehicle windows] in the last week - that’s a lot for here. It’s all ladies’ purses, all smash and grabs.”

Ezell said that in addition to the state park break-ins, vehicles at the Horse Palace and the Off-Track Betting (OTB) on Harrison Drive were also reportedly hit. 

“We’re pretty sure it was a pass through, just because of the randomness of it, and two vehicles in that close of proximity and time period,” Lt. Ken Pearson, the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Evanston Police Department (EPD) said during a follow-up interview. Pearson explained that it’s common for many Evanston residents not to lock their belongings up due to a false sense of security.  He also cautioned that many people are unaware of their surroundings, which could cause them to become targets of opportunity.

“Lock your doors, don’t leave purses or valuables in your vehicle and be cognizant of your surroundings,” Pearson said.

“We’re a higher-risk community anyway — we’re a border town and on I-80. The reality is this area will have sporadic problems,” EPD Chief of Police Mike Vranish said. “But we have a lot of good people in the community taking care of each other, too.” 

“It’s a joint effort,” Pearson added.

Vranish would like to remind citizens that if you’ve been the victim of a crime, please report it.  Keep detailed records of serial numbers on items such as electronics and firearms. Vranish said that Evanston has a higher-than-average rate of solving robberies and recovering stolen property.

“I attribute our success rate to our community,” he said.