DENHAM SPRINGS - There's been an increase in cars being broken into and stolen in Denham Springs. Police say they're busy trying to find out who’s responsible.

“I went outside to go to work, both vehicles were gone,” said Michael Garidel.

Not one, but two cars were taken outside Garidel's home on Pine St.

“I have five children. I work everyday so I kind of need both vehicles,” he said.

It was a disheartening discovery. Garidel says he’s usually comfortable leaving his doors unlocked.

“That’s not something I ever worried about in my neighborhood,” he said.

Fortunately, Garidel did recover one of his cars, a Kia Optima, one mile away in an apartment complex. But his GMC Yukon is still missing.

“I really didn't want to have to replace that vehicle, it took a long time to get it,” he said.

Five minutes across town, Randy Wallace woke up to a similar disappointment.

“I think they peeked in there and saw a purse in there,” he said.

The passenger side of his fiancee’s car was smashed in. Her purse was taken then tossed on a neighboring lawn.

“It's frustrating. It adds to a window being fixed, you know we had to pay for that,” said Wallace.

Wallace says he wasn't the only one hit in his neighborhood.

“It is an increase,” said Detective Amber Fairburn with the Denham Springs Police Department.

Fairburn says they're getting more calls reporting car burglaries in the past couple of days.

“We're getting DNA from the vehicles and then we're going to go from there,” said Fairburn. “We're doing neighborhood patrols and we're talking to neighbors in the area."

“Hopefully they find out who is doing this, because it wasn't just my vehicle there's been other ones that have been stolen as well,” said Garidel.

The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office is also looking into a string of vehicle burglaries in Walker.