Family Returns From Holiday, Discovers Van Stolen

A Decatur family returned from Thanksgiving holiday to discover their minivan had been stolen--and then found.

The family parked the 1997 Plymouth Voyager van in the driveway when they left town Nov. 23. It wasn't there when they got home about 2:15 p.m. Nov. 25. Neighbors reported seeing the van the night before.

Police listed the car on the Georgia Crime Information Center network. They found out the van had been found abandoned about 12:15 a.m. Nov. 25 at Hightower Road NW at Whiting Street NW in Atlanta. It had been towed away.

Decatur police investigated five other reports of car thefts between Nov. 14 and 22.

• A 1993 Honda Civic reported stolen Nov. 14 from a parking lot. The car was abandoned and recovered in Gwinnett County.         

• A 2002 Chevrolet Express van taken about 10:50 a.m. Nov. 14 from a work site in the 100 block of West Hill St. The van was owned by BR Brother's Construction Company and contained about $10,000 in tools. An employee who saw the van driven away said somebody punctured a tire on his car, which was parked nearby. The van was abandoned and recovered in Atlanta.

• A 1997 Honda Civic was reported stolen Nov. 19 from the Decatur Town Houses at 307 Adair St. The owner said she last saw the car Nov. 16. She said the car was locked.

• A 1995 Ford Ranger truck reported stolen Nov. 20. The owner said he loaned the car to his son, who was just released from prison, but the son didn't return it. On Nov. 25, officers responded to a 911 call at a residence on Madison Avenue where the son had returned the vehicle. He was charged with theft by conversion and taken to the DeKalb County jail.

• A Honda Odyssey was taken Nov. 22 from a parking deck in the 200 block of East Ponce de Leon Ave. The owner last saw the van at 7 p.m. the night before.