Chicago police are investigating another theft of vehicles from a downtown valet parking operation. It’s the second time that multiple cars have been stolen from valet services this month.
Police responded to a restaurant on the 400 block of North Clark around 6:50 p.m. on Dec. 23 after the eatery’s valet attendant found several sets of keys missing from a lockbox.
A source identified the affected restaurants as Frontera Grill and its sister property, Topolobampo, at 445 North Clark.
Valet workers determined that thieves used the stolen keys to take three vehicles from their parking lot: a white Acura RDZ; a black Lincoln MKS; and a gray Subaru Crosstrek.
Police were working to determine if the case is connected to the theft of three vehicles from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel valet parking system on Dec. 19.
In the hotel thefts, “several young people” entered the garage at 160 East Pearson around 11 p.m. and got behind the wheels of a Mercedes, a Range Rover, and a Tesla Model S that all reportedly had their keys inside, according to a witness.
Then, they drove out the garage exit, with the first car crashing through a gate to win their freedom. The Range Rover was found nearby. A GPS tracker led police to the stolen Tesla, which was found abandoned on the 7800 block of South Carpenter about two hours after the thefts.
No descriptions of the offenders were available for either incident. Area Central detectives are investigating.
