Two Brown County State Park visitors had their vehicles broken into and valuables taken on Aug. 16.

Brown County resident Sara Daehn lost a laptop computer; her purse, including credit cards, her driver’s license and Social Security card; and two cellphones, one of them for work.

She had parked near the fire tower, right along the main park road, to run the trails with friends between about 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

“I run there all the time, and I always feel safe,” she said.

One of her running partners left a little before she did and noticed a white car with two men in it, parked right next to hers in the lot. There were no other vehicles in the area, so she thought it was odd that it was parked so close, Daehn said. She suspects that the crime occurred shortly after her friend left.

Something was used to smash her car window, she said.

The second incident occurred the same day in the Strahl Lake parking lot, said Brown County Sheriff’s Detective Brian Shrader, who is investigating both cases.

No windows were smashed on that vehicle, but the suspects somehow entered it and stole a purse, Shrader said. That victim had taken her phone and wallet with her, he said.

Daehn said a credit card of hers was used at a gas station in Columbus.

Shrader said he is still actively investigating both cases and looking for similar crimes in other areas.

“This is not something that happens often, and to my recollection, hasn’t happened in the state park,” he said.

He said the suspects were likely driving around the park looking for vehicles to break into and picking ones with items in plain sight.

He recommends people take their wallets and phones with them when they leave their vehicles, put all other valuable items out of plain view, and lock their doors.