Car stolen twice in same day

A Stevens Point man thought he was lucky to recover his car after it was stolen -- until it was stolen again later that day.

York Heiden's pearl-colored 1990 Audi Quattro was stolen from a grocery store parking lot April 27 while his wife was running errands. The keys had been left in it.

Heiden, 36, who owns an automotive repair shop, quickly called some friends and the car was found nearby, without keys.

He said he had a friend disable the car's ignition by removing a coil wire while he left it to pick up a spare key. When he returned, the car was gone. He had forgotten, he said, that the model Audi had a two-coil system and could be driven with just one.

"I was speechless," Heiden said, recalling how he stood where the car had been found, keys dangling from his fingers, the emotional high of finding the car dashed. "All I could do was hold the key up in my hand and look at it."

"Everyone says, 'You shouldn't have left it,'" Heiden said, laughing. "But I know, I know ... So many what-ifs: I shouldn't have done this, I should have taken the tire off."

Police later found the car in the same neighborhood. It had a broken taillight and a broken piece of interior trim.

What did Heiden learn from his ordeal?

"Don't leave your keys in the ignition," he said. "And if you find it, do not leave it."