Missouri car thief may have left his wallet behind

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- A Missouri car thief who stole a laptop computer and a gun may have left behind an important clue -- his wallet.

Taylor Buttry said she finished working a 12-hour shift at Mercy Hospital in Springfield and came out to the parking lot to discovery her Toyota Camry was missing.

Police later found the car abandoned at a corner in south Springfield, but the car thief apparently made off with Buttry's laptop computer, her .38 Smith & Wesson revolver with a pink handle and a pair of Littmann Stethoscopes.

Some nursing school papers with Buttry's name on them were also taken, but were later found next to another stolen vehicle.

Buttry said the thief left behind items including fast food receipts and snack foods. She said the interior smelled like cigarette smoke.

The thief also left behind another potentially important clue -- a wallet containing a driver's license and other documents.

Buttry said the man pictured on the license bears a strong resemblance to the man caught on security cameras at Mercy Hospital.

Buttry said the thief also left behind the key to a MINI Cooper and some textbooks, items she suspects might belong to another theft victim.

Police said they are investigating whether the man pictured on the driver's license was the thief. They said officers determined the man no longer lives at the address listed on the license.

The thief is not the first to leave behind important clues at a crime scene: A car burglar in Naples, Fla., was found to have targeted at least seven cars, and the items he dropped at the various scenes include his wallet, an iPod and multiple T-shirts.

Authorities in California said in August that a burglary suspect was arrested after leaving behind an even more unusual piece of evidence -- unflushed poop in the victim's toilet.