Detectives investigate multiple car burglaries at Run-A-Muk parking lot
A man was seen climbing out of a pried-open car at Run-A-Muk, where detectives say multiple vehicles were hit in a pattern that has haunted trailhead lots.
A pried-open door and two broken-into vehicles at Run-A-Muk have put Summit County detectives back on a familiar public-safety problem: thieves hitting cars in busy recreation lots and moving on fast.
Summit County Dispatch received a call after a man was seen climbing out of a parked car through a door that appeared to have been pried open, a sign investigators say points to forced entry rather than an unlocked-door theft. Detectives are handling the case because more than one vehicle was involved at the Run-A-Muk parking lot, where trail users and dog walkers come and go throughout the day.
The Run-A-Muk case fits a pattern that has touched several Summit County trailheads and parks. In October 2023, Sheriff Frank Smith said the Sheriff’s Office was sending undercover deputies after a wave of smash-and-grab thefts and said he believed the crimes might be organized and involve more than one person. Run-A-Muk, Matt Knoop Park, Trailside Park and the Union Pacific Rail Trailhead near Promontory were among the places named in that effort. A June 2022 burglary-in-progress at Willow Creek Park also led to arrests tied to suspected car break-ins near recreation areas.
Run-A-Muk has also seen repeated theft reports before. Deputies received reports on May 13, 2026, that two vehicles had been broken into there, and a suspect was later seen driving a silver van in Park City before fleeing a traffic stop near Interstate 80 and S.R. 224 when officers lost sight of the vehicle. The trailhead was also the site of two vehicle burglaries during a one-week stretch in January 2019.
The concern is sharper because Run-A-Muk is one of the busiest access points in the Snyderville Basin. Basin Recreation told planners in 2024 that the site accounted for 70% of all hiking in the basin in 2020, with only about 15 stalls in the existing lot and a planned expansion to about 30 spaces roughly 1,000 feet east of the current parking area, closer to Kimball Junction. That heavy use gives thieves more cover in the churn of daily traffic.
For drivers, the immediate advice is simple and urgent: lock vehicles, keep valuables out of sight and pay close attention when parking at trailheads and dog-park lots. In a place where people often stop briefly for exercise or a walk, a few minutes of care can be the difference between a normal outing and a detective’s case file.
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