CALGARY (660 NEWS) – For those living at a Lakeview Drive apartment building in the southwest, the cold morning was made more difficult after they discovered their car plug-ins were stolen.

With the temperature in the minus 30s, residents of the building had plugged in their vehicles to assist them in starting.

However, Kelly McCartney and his neighbours found all of their cords missing in the morning.

“I barely started my car this morning because of that,” said McCartney.

RELATED: Calgary and surrounding area under extreme cold warning

He said an already difficult morning was made more so due to the thievery.

“In these temperatures, if you had an emergency or something, what are you going to do? If it doesn’t start, you’re in trouble.”

With the cord he normally used missing, McCartney has to use a cord he normally kept in the house.

“It’s tough to get going when it’s not plugged in. It’s really cold,” said McCartney.

“I mean, what kind of a dummy would do this? Who goes out and steals all these for what, a couple of bucks in copper?”

RELATED: A crime of opportunity: Calgary thieves taking more catalytic converters

McCartney said the cord he lost cost around $30 or $40 but assumed the thief would only get a couple of dollars worth of scrap metal.

After talking to the police about the incident, he was told he could file a complaint online.

He then phoned several scrap metal shops in the city were he assumed the thief could exchange the stolen cords.

“They told me that it’s happening all over the city,” confirmed McCartney.

“Unless it’s on videotape, it’s pretty hard to catch people like this.”

RELATED: Targeting rich neighbourhoods, man stole 1,300 people’s mail

He also wondered if they would be selling the cords online.

“I can’t get the gist of why they would do this.”