“We have had many successes with the LPR, including the arrest last week of the individuals who broke into 25 cars last week & stole one of them. I look forward to many more,” stated Police Chief Mike Fanning of the Pawleys Island Police Department.

Among the items reported stolen last week on Pawleys Island, SC were keys to 20 unlocked cars on the south end of the Island.

One of the keys taken belonged to a red 2013 Toyota Corolla with $10,000 worth of jewelry in the trunk, according to Police Chief Mike Fanning.

The valet key to the Toyota was in the center console, he said. The victim, "A 78-year-old Georgia woman is offering a reward for the jewelry that was in the stolen car.

The jewelry is of great sentimental value to her and she is offering up to $10,000 reward to anyone who can reunite her with these items," Chief Fanning said.

He thinks there were probably more cars entered, but people didn’t report the break-ins.

“We recovered some of the property, including 15 sets of keys,” he said. “I don’t know if it would be a record. It was unusual for this time of year,” Fanning said.

The license plate cameras the town installed on the causeways leading from the island showed the stolen car left at 3:30 a.m.

The LPR’s also provided a lead to another vehicle on the island at the time and Fanning said police were following up on that.

Police have arrested one teen and have warrants out for another after using the police department’s Automated License Plate Recognition system, Fanning said.

Last Friday, Dominque Andrews, 17, of Myrtle Beach, surrendered and was booked into the Georgetown County Detention Center for Grand Larceny Greater Than $10,000. Police are still searching for Nevontrey Moore, 18, of Myrtle Beach, on the same charge and 2 other counts of Petit Larceny Under $2,000.

The stolen red 2013 Toyota Corolla was found on Monday by the Horry County Police in the area of Legends Drive off Highway 501. However, the jewelry was missing.

Pawleys Island Police Department, while a small agency, is very forward-thinking when it comes to technology. The department invested in four state-of-the-art static automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras and will be leveraging NDI-RS’s relationship with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). SLED maintains a statewide license plate data system using NDI-RS’s back-office software, the Vehicle Intelligence Server and Communications Engine (VISCE). This centralized hub for South Carolina ALPR users means that the Pawleys Island Police Department is not required to purchase or maintain a server to handle their ALPR data.

“We have had many successes with the ALPR, including the arrest last week of the individuals who broke into 25 cars last week & stole one of them. I look forward to many more,” stated Police Chief Mike Fanning of the Pawleys Island Police Department.

If anyone has information regarding the investigation or the return of the stolen property, they can contact the Pawleys Island Police Department at 843-237-1698, attention Investigator Fairfield.