When Ellie Morinville ran to her car at the stadium parking lot so she could pick up a prescription, she found her car door unlocked and her belongings scattered across the seats and floor.
The freshman architecture major's first thought was that she had forgotten to lock the doors, but then she noticed a small hole in the driver's side window.
Someone had stuck a coat hanger in the hole and was able to jiggle the door open.
Morinville called the University Police Department when she realized her GPS was gone.
"I immediately broke down and started crying," Morinville said. "The GPS was a gift from my dad for graduating. It's upsetting someone would have that lack of respect for someone's property."
When UPD came, they told her theft wasn't an uncommon thing in Muncie, so she should be careful, Morinville said. Just this past weekend, five people reported car break-ins or thefts to UPD, according to the crime log.
Morinville was just one of the students who noticed her car had been broken into while parked in the stadium lot. Five students on the Ball State University Class of 2020 page took to the group to complain about the break-ins.
Thefts like these do occur "from time to time" on campus, UPD Chief Jim Duckham said in an email through university spokesperson Joan Todd. It's hard to pinpoint when they occur, he said, because students park their cars in the lot and don't return to it for days.
UPD patrols all campus parking lots and encourages the community to report suspicious activity, Duckham said. They also discuss crime prevention tips and strategies with students.
"Students should not keep valuable items in their vehicle, especially in plain sight," Duckham said. "UPD still strongly encourages students to make sure their vehicle is locked when they leave it parked."
Isaiah Schevola, a freshman computer science major, also discovered his car had been broken into this past weekend, but luckily, nothing was stolen. A few of his friends also found a similar sight when they returned to their car over the weekend.
The glove box was open, and papers and CD cases he keeps in the glove box were on the seat, he said.
"I keep nothing valuable in my car for a reason," Schevola said.
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