Palo Alto police are investigating another burglary of an occupied home in Palo Alto, the third following a similar pattern, police Agent Brian Philip reported Sunday.

The latest burglary occurred between Friday night and Saturday morning in the Crescent Park neighborhood, with the burglar or burglars entering a home in the 1100 block of Hamilton Avenue by a side window, stealing a purse and wallet and driving off with a family vehicle, while the two occupants were asleep upstairs, Philip reported.

The car was found a short time later by Menlo Park police, abandoned along Woodland Avenue -- indicating the burglar or burglars either walked into Palo Alto or had been dropped off.

An earlier home burglary occurred in the 1500 block of Hamilton, where burglars stole a large flat-panel television and drove off with the family minivan while the family of four slept upstairs. The minivan was later recovered in East Palo Alto, Philip said.

Another occupied-home burglary occurred in the 100 block of Waverley Street in early September. One person was arrested in that case following an early morning manhunt.