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WIMAUMA Tyrone Evans' car didn't suffer a scratch when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Six hours after driving it to a relative's home in Wimauma, however, the Dodge Stratus was stolen, along with about $10,000 worth of belongings. Welcome to Florida. Last year, 72,295 vehicles were stolen in the state, including 7,865 in Hillsborough County, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Evans and his wife, Charicki, are in the Navy. They fled Katrina to Evans' mother's home in Mount Pleasant, Texas, the day before the storm struck the Gulf Coast region. On Tuesday, they were allowed back into their parish to retrieve the vehicle and their belongings. "It was fine," he said. "There were some sticks blown around lying beside it, but nothing on top of it." The couple's home also escaped damage, but a lack of power and water forced them to leave for Florida, Evans said. He parked the car in the Windermere Lake Apartments parking lot about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Inside were clothing, his Navy uniforms, his military records and numerous electronics, including a video recorder. By 7:30 a.m., his wife noticed the Stratus was missing and that another vehicle was parked in its place. The thieves apparently tried to break in to her car, a Chrysler Sebring, with a screwdriver but failed, Evans said. Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said deputies discovered at least two other cars were broken in to there. The abandoned Stratus was found at Jackson Springs and Hanley roads in Town 'N Country, Carter said. The thieves left behind credit card receipts, but they didn't belong to Evans. "They were probably from somebody else's car they robbed," he said. After retrieving the Stratus from the sheriff's impound lot, Evans took it to a repair shop. Until damages to the door are fixed, he'll drive a rental and his insurance company will cover the expense, he said. He's mad but isn't letting it get the best of him. "I just tried to sleep it off," he said of his anger. "There's not too much I can really do."