VINEYARD--The police removed four stripped cars from a hillside overlooking Philipsburg on Tuesday.

The officers were tipped off by a car tracker who spotted a disembowelled Hyundai Trajet minivan sitting on rocks on Over the Bank Lane 1. The tracker then spotted a torched Kia Picanto compact car and a damaged Suzuki Vitara SUV on their roofs, and a gouged Mitsubishi Lancer hidden in bushes farther uphill.

Identification found in and around two of the cars suggested they belonged to French St. Martin residents. The police found insurance, social security and other documents belonging to French-side resident Marlene J. Roa Cordero in the Lancer with licence plate number 782ZAS971. They also found a discarded licence plate 720ZAS971 presumably belonging to the Vitara.

The Trajet has stickers on its windshield for H&J Scooter and Car Rental with numbers 526-3230/0690630597 and for the Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association (DSTA). The Picanto was burnt beyond recognition and no identification was found in or around it.

Thieves scattered car seats, bumpers and other parts in the bushes that separate Over the Bank from Guana Hill. The thieves removed the engines and other mechanical parts from the cars. They also took head and taillights.

All four cars are fairly common in St. Maarten/St. Martin. Trajets are often used for tours and Picantos are among the preferred Kias for rental.

Hungry's Towing Service in Sucker Garden impounded the cars. NAGICO Insurances representatives were on the scene assessing the find.

It wasn't the first time that cars had been found stripped along that road. The police found burnt remains of cars there more than a year ago.

The police also recovered eight presumably-stolen cars from the bushes between Union Farm and Dutch Quarter one day in February. Two of the cars had been torched.

The police didn't have an official report on the incident Tuesday.