Police continue to investigate following the early Friday morning theft of a car in Waterloo that resulted in a police pursuit in Columbia and St. Clair County.

Shortly after 2:10 a.m., police were alerted to the theft of a maroon 2020 Honda Civic from the 500 block of Southview Drive off Route 3. The car was parked unlocked in the garage of a residence with the keys left inside and a garage door open at the time it was stolen.

Columbia police were notified of the theft and were on the lookout for the stolen vehicle when it was seen traveling north on Route 3 at a high rate of speed in tandem with two other vehicles, those being a white Ford Fusion and a white Hyundai Sonata. Spike strips were placed in the area of Route 3 and North Main Street in Columbia, successfully puncturing the tires of the Ford Fusion. Along with the other two suspect cars, police said the Ford Fusion took the Palmer Road exit off Route 3 and then took the ramp to I-255 northbound before stopping due to flattened tires. A Black male from that car hopped into the stolen Honda Civic, after which that vehicle sped north on I-255 toward Dupo.

Columbia officers trailed behind the Honda Civic as it continued north to Cahokia Heights, after which officers from that police department picked up the pursuit. Columbia police were told the Honda Civic successfully evaded police somewhere across the Poplar Street Bridge in St. Louis, and the stolen car was recovered unoccupied Monday in St. Louis.

As for the Ford Fusion, Columbia police were able to determine that it had recently been stolen in Baldwin.

The Metro-East Auto Theft Task Force is investigating that theft in addition to assisting Waterloo police with the stolen car from their venue.

The Hyundai Sonata was last seen traveling slowly on the shoulder of I-255 near where the Ford Fusion stopped, but police were not sure to where it continued. That car had Missouri temporary tags on it, police said, and suspect it had also been stolen in the area.