Statewide, auto thefts have been on the rise in recent years, and the impact is being felt in the Long Beach Island region, where affluence is widespread and people on both sides of the tourism equation are preoccupied with the business of summer – plus, the proximity of the Garden State Parkway makes for an easy escape route.

“I want to believe it’s just random,” Tide Table Group co-owner Melanie Magaziner of Mud City said after a 2015 Mercedes was stolen out of her driveway in broad daylight a…