DAVENPORT, Iowa — It was Monday, May 24, 2021, just after 2:00 a.m.
Home security video from Jeff and Connie Smith's house shows a group of people walking into the Smith's garage at their home in North Davenport.
"I usually make sure all the doors are locked but that’s the night that I didn’t," said Jeff Smith.
Jeff woke up early Monday morning. He realized the back door to the garage was not latched properly, and then realized two of his cars - a GMC Terrain and a Honda CR-V - were missing.
"It's easiest to have it right by the back door when you come in, when you’re leaving it’s easy to grab them, but we’re going to have to give up easy for safety," Jeff said.
Jeff is talking about his car keys, which were sitting in plain sight when thieves walked into the open garage, then into the house through the back door.
"We have smart locks, and the lock at the back door was not working," Jeff said.
Jeff explained the key rack in his home is covered by the door when someone walks into the house. That means the thieves would have needed to fully close the door to find the key rack, Jeff said.
Both cars have since been found, and both Jeff and Connie are working to get new keys made for each vehicle.
Jeff said the cars were not severely damaged, but he now wonders where the best spot is to put his car keys in his own home.
"Should you hide 'em and then they go through the house trying to find 'em, or do you put 'em somewhere where they can grab 'em, and not hurt your family?" said Jeff.
Two cars, both stolen in the middle of the night. It's a reminder to check if everything at home is locked down.
135 cars were stolen from January until the end of April 2021, according to Davenport Police. The department also said that number grew from 95 stolen cars during the same time frame last year.