SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Officials with the Springfield Police Department said car thefts are on the rise again this summer.

“City-wide from July 26 through August 8, we had 70 vehicles stolen in that two-week period,” said Cris Swaters with SPD. “Compared to the two weeks previous to that, which was July 12 through the 25, there were only 63.”

Swaters said all it takes is five seconds for someone to slip in and drive off in a car that is running and unattended.

Which, in a lot of cases, is how vehicles are being stolen.

“Don’t leave the keys in your car,” said Swaters. “Don’t leave your car running, especially with the keys in your car. It’s actually a violation of city ordinance. Don’t leave important things in your car.”

She said a lot of times people leave the car running in the winter when it’s cold outside.

“What we’re seeing right now is the same thing, only opposite weather,” said Swaters. “People are leaving their keys in their cars to cool off their cars.”

Trevor Huey just recently had his car stolen in Springfield.

“I just couldn’t really put it into words,” said Huey. “It was like I was just in shock. I didn’t know what to say.”

He said he received a call letting him know his vehicle registration papers were found on the side of the road.

When he went to look for his car, it was gone.

“One of my doors doesn’t lock whenever I use the fob, so they just got in,” said Huey. “They hot-wired it and took off.”

Huey called the police and started asking for help on social media.

His car was later found with some items missing.

He urges people to be extra cautious with their vehicles.