MANCHESTER, NH (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Manchester, N.H. police are investigating a spike in recent car thefts where suspects in at least two cases have targeted members of a local gym.
Two weeks ago, Katie Iskra said she locked her Chevy Trax SUV and went into the Planet Fitness on Huse Road for her daily workout, hanging her car keys on the member's board by the front desk.
"I felt safe, hanging my keys, cause that's what I've done many, many times before," Iskra told FOX25.
Instead, when Iskra finished her workout, she said her keys were missing, and employees told her they had no idea what happened.
"I came outside, and my car was gone," Iskra said. "At that point, I was absolutely petrified, like who had my car? I was horrified."
Iskra and her husband were able to track her SUV through the OnStar app on her iPhone, eventually locating it 17 miles away, in Nashua.
Investigators said the suspects not only took her car on a joy ride, they also used her credit cards from her purse to purchase liquor and other items.
On Nov. 20, two weeks after Iskra's car was stolen, another woman reported a similar car theft at another Planet Fitness location in Manchester.
Investigators said that woman's car was also found in Nashua in a restaurant parking lot, after the suspects apparently also snatched her keys from the board inside the gym.
"It's shocking. I can't believe that these people are getting away with the same crime more than once," Iskra said.
Manchester Police tell FOX25 this is one of the latest incidents in a string of car thefts; 41 vehicles reported stolen in the city in the past two months, indicating a 30 percent increase over the same time last year.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Planet Fitness said, "We are aware of the thefts that took place in the Planet Fitness club parking lot in Manchester, NH, and we are working closely with local authorities to assist in this matter. We offer the key rack as a convenience for members, and while it is unattended, in-club signage indicates that the key racks are used at member risk."
Iskra said the gym does not go far enough to protect its members, noting if the alleged thieves have found a successful way to commit their crimes, they could strike again.
"That is concerning to me it," Iskra told FOX25. "This should be about the value and respect for your customers, and that's what upsetting."
Cox Media Group
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