Missing shoe links man to auto theft

A Lawrence man stole a car, abandoned it six blocks away, lost a shoe and began tinkering inside another person’s vehicle before he was arrested Saturday morning, Lawrence police said.

Sgt. Susan Hadl said police were able to link the sole to the suspect with “a little bit of Cinderella investigation.”

The investigation began when a 22-year-old KU student reported her vehicle stolen about 11:45 p.m. Friday. Police had just broken up a party in the 1300 block of Massachusetts Street. When partygoers dispersed, the woman discovered that her vehicle, which had been parked in the driveway with the key in the ignition, was missing.

Shortly thereafter, police learned of a possible wreck in the 1900 block of Massachusetts Street.

There, they found the stolen vehicle “sort of in a driveway, sort of not.” The radio was blaring, the lights were on and items were splayed around the car. While some items around the car belonged to its owner, one rogue item was found: a shoe.

Police later received reports of suspicious activity at Family Video Rental, 1818 Mass. A video store patron found a stranger in their car honking the horn and messing around in the vehicle.

“By the time we caught up with him, he had one shoe on, one shoe off, was really, really drunk and had no idea where he was or how he got there,” Hadl said. “When we put it all together, we found that he was responsible for the auto theft.”

Hadl said that his intoxication “contributed greatly” to his arrest.

The KU student’s car was returned to her Saturday morning. The man was arrested for auto theft, driving under the influence and disorderly conduct.