ROCHELLE – The Rochelle Police Department discovered a stolen car abandoned in a local parking lot early Sunday morning. 

An officer found the 2005 Chrysler Pacifica parked in the lot of Unity Hospice, located at 915 Caron Road in Rochelle, at about 5 a.m. Sunday morning. The vehicle was reported stolen out of LaMoille in Bureau County last week. 

Because the car had been processed multiple times in recent days, the police department thinks it was stolen prior to being recovered. No arrests have been made at this time. The police department had encountered a similar situation recently, when a car was stolen from Rochelle and discovered in a neighboring town. 

“The owner is supposed to come and get it today,” said deputy chief Jeff Leininger. “It has been processed and is ready for release. Recently, a car with the doors unlocked and the keys left in it was stolen from town. Somebody took it for a joyride and it was later found in Rockford.”