Blanchard Police Investigate Rash Of Break-Ins

Blanchard police said they are looking for the crooks responsible for a series of break-ins last week.

And they said they're hoping Facebook will help them catch the culprits.

According to police reports, some of the items taken included a rifle, ammunition, a propane tank and wallet.

“At this point in time we really don't have any suspects,” said Officer Brandon Wheeler with the Blanchard Police Department. “So we want to put it out there and hope somebody sees something and they can let us know.”

Authorities with the police department said they have been using Facebook for years to communicate with the people living there.

And they said they hope it can help them solve this latest wave of break-ins.

They said they are also doing their part to try to catch the criminals in the act.

They've stepped up patrols in the area and asked people all over the city to be on the lookout.

They even encouraged them to put up surveillance cameras and lights in the area.

They also asked for people to take their purses and wallets and other valuables out of their cars and to lock up their vehicles.

“My daughter lives over there and her house got broke into a year and a half ago,” said resident Carole Long, who lives on Harrison Street.

She said the Blanchard police Facebook post was how she discovered her neighbors down the street had been hit last week. She said she is just glad police are reaching out to people this way.

“Because you don't always know what's going on day-by-day in your community so I think it's good,” said Long. “It's up to date information, minute-by-minute.”

“It looks like at this point they're just going through looking for unlocked doors, and easy items to take out of cars,” said Officer Wheeler. “So that's why we've asked the community to please lock your stuff up! Don't leave anything valuable in your cars. That way that ease of opportunity is not there for them.”

But that's a hard lesson to learn for a lot of these longtime residents, who said they are used to Blanchard being a safe, friendly, trusting place.

“You normally don't have to lock your cars out here or worry about anything like that,” said Long. “We used to leave our keys in the car, but you just can't do that anymore. Times are changing!”

Blanchard police said if you have any tips about this latest crime spree, just call them at (405) 485-9391 or you can just send them a message on their Facebook page.