Salina Police located a stolen Jeep that was taken from central Salina earlier this week.

According to Police Capt. Paul Forrester, an officer was checking an automated licenses plate reader at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday and noticed multiple alerts for the missing Jeep’s tag in the 500 block of S. 12th St. When police arrived, they immediately located the stolen vehicle parked along the curb.

The officers observed several people outside of a home at 539 S. 12th. Officers made contact with the occupant of the home and she confirmed that suspect, Brandon Reece, 34, Salina, was inside of the home in the basement. Reece refused to come out of the home. When officers searched through the house, they found him hiding inside of a crawl space with clothes covering his body.

Over the course of the investigation, the victim of the stolen Jeep told authorities that her keys and credit card inside of her purse were also stolen. The victim says she was notified of the stolen card being used on Thursday night at Wal-Mart, 2900 S. 9th, Salina. Officers connected Reece to making the purchase of a cell-phone from the store for $265. When they arrested Reece, they also noticed a Wal-Mart bag with a receipt inside. Video survallience from the store shows Reece making the purchase.

Reece has been charged with felony theft, felony criminal use of a financial card and felony obstruction.

ORIGINAL: A 2018 Jeep Compass was stolen from E. Kirwin late last night.

Salina Police Captain Gary Hanus tells KSAL News:

Between 9:00 PM and 11:30 PM on the 19th, the red Jeep was stolen from the 200 block of E. Kirwin. The loss is estimated to be $32,000. There is a known suspect at this time and officers of the Salina police department are actively investigating this case.