Seattle, Yakima, Eugene rank in nation’s top 25 for auto theft; more than 44,010 vehicles stolen across Northwest

The Northwest continues to be a hotbed for auto thieves despite an overall 24 percent decrease in theft rates last year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s annual Hot Spots Report. Yakima topped all Northwest cities with the third-highest auto theft rate in the nation. Eugene and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area ranked 20th and 25th respectively.