VANCOUVER -- Mounties are reminding the public not to leave garage door openers in vehicles after a woman was arrested in Kamloops Wednesday with three of them in her possession.
According to Kamloops RCMP, the 41-year-old suspect was arrested after an early-morning incident in their city's Juniper Heights neighbourhood.
Police said a homeowner there was awakened by his residential alarm. When he got up, he found his garage door was open and saw a woman fleeing the area.
When officers found a suspect matching the woman's description, they found she had two other garage door openers in her possession, as well as household items police later determined had gone missing from nearby homes.
Police allege that the woman took the garage door openers from vehicles parked outside of the victims' houses, opened the garages and stole items from the homes as their residents slept.
"It is a frightening experience to know a thief has been in your home, let alone one being in your home while you and your family are inside asleep," said Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie in a news release.
Shelkie added that people should "always remove all valuables, including the overhead garage door opener," from their vehicles after parking.
Locking car doors when parked - even at home - is also important, but it's not a guarantee that a garage door opener can't be stolen, Shelkie told CTV News Vancouver.
She said the victims in these cases had left their vehicles unlocked, but added that her detachment has seen cases in the past in which thieves smashed car windows or pried open car doors in order to get access to the garage door opener inside.
"There's obviously much more to steal if you can get access to a garage or a home," Shelkie said.
