Print edition: 
"There's one."
The white truck was idling in the parking lot of the QuikTrip at 1010 E. Douglas early on a frigid Wednesday morning.
No one was inside the truck, making it a tempting target for auto thieves.
Wichita police Officer Mike Brown parked in the lot, walked over to the truck and was preparing to leave a note on the truck's windshield when the driver emerged from the convenience store.
"I didn't do it!" he insisted, though he wasn't sure why the officer was there.
Brown and several other officers spent Wednesday morning putting "If I were a thief" notes on vehicles left running while unattended.
It's foolish to leave unattended vehicles running, Brown said,
Auto thieves thrive on the laziness of drivers who don't want to climb into a cold car.
"It's like fishing," Brown said of looking for vehicles left running.
He found two at the QuikTrip and another two in a south Wichita apartment complex in only a few minutes of looking.
On cold mornings such as Wednesday — when temperatures at sunrise were in single digits and the wind chill was below zero — a police officer could easily find 15 to 20 vehicles left running unattended, Brown said.
Car thefts typically jump on cold mornings such as Wednesday, police say, because so many people leave cars running while they're getting ready for work or dashing into a convenience store for a cup of coffee.
As the note Brown left on the windshields states, it can take less than a minute for thieves to steal a car — especially if it's been left with the engine running.
And even if the car is recovered, it's likely to have been damaged or to have had personal property stolen from it.
Police statistics show that 183 vehicles were stolen while left running unattended in 2007, and 177 running cars were stolen last year. Statistics for this year have not yet been compiled.
Numbers aside, Brown said he understands the temptation people have to start their car in the morning while they get ready for work.
"It's human nature" to want the car nice and warm, he said.
The best way to warm up the car and still protect it from thieves, he said, is to purchase a remote engine starter. Thieves can't take off with the vehicle, he said, because it can't be put into gear without a key in the ignition.
