News 10 first took note of these thefts in January when Evangeline Parish Sheriff Charles Guillory said his office had been dealing with the issue for several months.

(KLFY)-- In Louisiana, ATVs and off-road vehicles are common among residents. Law enforcement across Acadiana have continued to notice an increase in thefts for these types of vehicles and warn people to protect their property.

News 10 first took note of these thefts in January when Evangeline Parish Sheriff Charles Guillory said his office had been dealing with the issue for several months.

As his office continues to investigate and search for their suspects, Guillory said his parish is not the only one dealing with this issue.

"KP Gibson, the sheriff, called me and he's also having vehicle thefts and ATV thefts," Guillory said. "As well as St. Landry parish, and Evangeline, so no parish is immune."

Through further investigation, St. Landry Parish and Acadia Parish are also dealing with these thefts that date as far back as last summer.

St. Landry Parish currently has multiple ATVs and a motorcycle listed as stolen on their crime stoppers website.

There is even speculation from law enforcement these thefts could be part of an organized ring.

"They'll go, they hit a parish, then they quit. Then they start again," Guillory said.

But with these thefts continuing to rise, the question becomes: Why are these types of vehicles such an easy target?

"They know if they hit farmers, they know they have side by sides and 4-wheelers," Guillory said.

"A lot of farmers out here, after a hard day of work they leave them in the front," Eddie Thibodeaux of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office said. "Some of them even chain them. A bolt cutter can take those locks off."

With the vehicles easy for thieves to find, they are also hard to track, since ATVs can be transported on the back of trucks and kept off the roads and out of sight.

"There are no license plates, vin numbers can be changed fast," Thibodeaux said. "I mean it does make it a lot harder for us to locate them."

Easy tips from law enforcement to protect your vehicles from being stolen include taking your keys out of the ignition and always parking the vehicle in a secure location when they're not in use also installing trackers to each of your vehicles.

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