Two cars were broken into at the Days Inn hotel parking lot near the University of Minnesota campus over the weekend.

Both cars had broken windows and missing items. Police believe the break-ins are related.

Eric Richard, 46, of Bismarck, N.D., came to the Twin Cities with his family for a wedding. His car was parked in the hotel’s back lot Saturday.

Sunday morning, Richard was notified by hotel staff his vehicle had been broken into. Someone busted a rear side window and took his daughter’s backpack, which held two textbooks, a scientific calculator and a notebook.

“I was a little surprised,” he said. “It was a well-lit area. It wasn’t like it was in a dark corner.”

Police recovered the backpack from under another car parked nearby, which was also broken into.

The suspect most likely threw the bag under the other car, said Minneapolis police Sgt. Steve McCarty.

The other car belongs to Brock Lunderville, 50, of Suamico, Wisc. Lunderville was visiting his daughter, Alexis Lunderville, a University freshman.

He said he went to his car around 9 p.m. Saturday and noticed one of the windows was smashed. His daughter’s backpack and some work clothes were missing.

Lunderville said police found a mix of the stolen items.

“To me, what was striking was I had other things in the car that were more valuable than what they took,” he said. “They could have taken a GPS if they wanted it. To me, they were looking for packs that had laptops in it.”

Richard said the hotel does not have any cameras overlooking the rear lot.

Police are investigating the incidents.