Early Christmas Thief / Theives

[afishrmn]

An early reminder to all that visit / post on this forum to remember that criminals don't sleep !!!

I have been looking forward to the up-coming ice fishing season long before my hunting was over, so after seeing the forecast for this weekend why not call up my buddy and hit the ice for some early slabs. The plan was to meet up at 4:30 a.m. for a pot of coffee and a bowl of cigarettes, and then hit the lake, so I made sure that the preparing, checking and double testing everything was done well in advance. All thats left to do now is try and force myself to get a little sleep (yeah right.....on the first night before ice fishing) throw the loaded shack in the back of the truck, and hit the road right???

..........WRONG!!!!!!.........

I get up this morning only to find that some ?%*!?"%$ S.O.B. shanghide my stuff right out of my garage.

Now that I've talked to the sheriff to let him know I still got some slugs left over from deer hunting, and my insurance co. to verify my &?*%#$!" $1,000 deductable, I'm at my wits end. I'm hoping that someone will notice something. I cant stand the fact that I'm stuck here while some loser is probably planning a nice little outing with my stuff. Please keep an eye out for the following items........

1) Frabill Trekker 2-man shelter w/ 2 deluxe folding seats and cover.

2) Jiffy Stealth STX 8" auger (new blades as of Wednesday)

3) MarCum LX3 w/ the color upgrade and new battery

4) Aqua-Vu Scout w/ new battery

5) Blue Ice Armor Suit (coat and bibs) size large

6) 1 pair of Rocky Ice Stalker boots (size 11)

7) 1 pair of black Gore-Tex gloves (size large)

8) Mr. Heater, sunflower heater w/ 20# cylinder

9) Garmin E-Trex handheld GPS

10) 2 - Frabill Pro-Thermal Tip-Ups

11) 4 - St. Croix Premiere ice combos (2-24" ML & 2-28" M) in an HT rod case

12) An HT adjustable ice scoop and HT Gaff

13) Jigs, Sinkers, Bobbers and misc. tackle in a Frabill bucket

14) A West-Metro book of lake maps (many with GPS coord. added)

15) A small gas Weber grill

16) A green Paulin chainsaw (which is worthless because the engine is shot)

Thanks for any help.

P.S. everyone have a safe and productive time out on the ice this year, and remember to introduce a kid to the outdoors (we can always use more true sportsmen and sportswomen)

[Ryan_V]

that sucks, I wish you well, hope you get your stuff back and the little you-know-whats get theirs!!

[zamboni]

Man, I truly appreciate living in a town this size- 1200 ppl, you can sleep with both eyes closed here. Hope you get your stuff back- I had an ex steal some of my stuff when I lived in Wright County, and the sheriffs dept there didn't do too much to help me out, even after my ex admitted it

[Kyle Sandberg]

I will keep an eye out for your stuff. I hate to hear that when it happens.

[walleyechasers3]

Wow, now I know why I lock all the doors on the garage. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I told the wife that things are going to start getting rough with this booming economy we have. I will keep my eyes peeled in IA for anything for sale that resembles your items

[wishing for walleyes]

Sorry to hear about your loss.I just did a bunch of searching on hsolist for your items and dont see them on there yet.

[huntingmaxima]

If you run out of slugs let me know I have a bunch also. I know the feeling, had it happen a few years ago also. Good luck.

[Surface Tension]

afishrmn, welcome to HSO/FM. Sorry to hear you got ripped off.

Whomever got your stuff could never appreciate having it as much as you. In a way they robbed themselves because when they use your stuff they'll know how they got it all and it'll taint that sacred outdoor experience.

[TylerS]

I went to High School at Buffalo. It must have really gone to pot since I left. Do you live in town our out in the stix? Good luck and I hope they nab the punks that swiped your gear.

[fdr01]

that just sucks make sure to monitor craigs list and HSOList if i see anything i'll shoot a post.fdr

[sparkydm]

afishrmn, i feel your pain! i too have been cleaned out in the past. no good. I have been bracing for another robbery lately because certain individuals have been staking out my home which is isolated from the main road. sheriff is no help. i go armed everywhere i go for fear of arriving home unarmed. good luck to you

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Man that really sucks!

I had a LX-3 stolen out of the back of my truck a few years ago at Red Lake so I know slightly how you must feel.

Cliff

[JustinG]

The point of this story is this:

YOU ARE NOT SAFE WHEREVER YOU LIVE!!!

Best thing to do is be prepared. Lock your doors, keep expensive items out of sight of windows, don't leave stuff in plain sight in your yard or in the back of vehicles!

Maybe consider locking electronics and other very expensive fishing items in your basement instead of your garage. It seems like garages are prime targets for burglary. Install a deadbolt on the man door and a security light near the door. You may even want to bar the garage windows if you have alot of expensive tools or toys in there. Talk to your neigbors and have them keep an eye on things if you are gone...do everything in your power to make it hard for a theif to break in.

I am really sorry to hear your stuff got stolen. I hope the police catch them and you get your stuff back! The sad part is the theif probably needed some $$ for a meth fix and your stuff may end up in a pawn shop. I am sure he didn't steal it to go out fishing because people like this don't have a heart. Good luck!!!!

Justin

[walleyeking19]

afishrmn, where do you live in buffalo?

[anyfishaldo]

Hey,

afishrmn,

Set up an care of account at your local bank so that ice fisherman and women can send a check for a couple of bucks (well worth the stamp) and we can beat the bastard that took your stuff.

I cannot stand people that steal.

I had my new bike I got for my 8th birthday stolen and then my college graduation present ( new Titleist DCI Black Irons) i actually got from my divorced parents who cannot speak to one another. I will watch for a post on Monday so i know where to send a few bucks to help you out!

[Bullwinkled]

i would call the local pawnshops. It can't hurt.

[soledad]

afishrmn,

I know how you feel. Just two weeks ago my truck window was smashed out while in my driveway up here in Monticello. They got a nice digital camera DSLR, camera case, Ipod etc.

It really sucks-

I was the sixth one to call the sheriff that next morning.

[kwiggy]

afishrmn, sorry for your loss, that sucks. What sucks even more is slowly realizing that you will not get your stuff back. My wife had her purse stolen from her car while carrying our daughter in to daycare on a Monday morning. Who gets robbed early Monday morning?!?!?. And who would robb a mother carrying a child?!?!?! The thief filled his car at holiday in Monticello and tried to buy $700 worth of goods at Target in Monticello. These are probably the newest buildings in the metro with the best surveillance of any business. They have a great picture of the guy from Target, plus a picture of his car from Holiday. They could NOT read the lic plate from the pict. I don't understand how the gas station in MN doesn't have a camera that can read lic. plate?!?! Needless to say, there is somebody in Monticello on a crime spree and nothing much is being done about it. If you see a guy in a white or gray Jeep Grand Cherokee (not the boxy body style) who appears about 25 yr old with a beared, be careful. HE IS A THIEF! Good Luck afishrmn with your recovery. I hope you are successful.

[kwiggy]

Soledad, Do you live near Von Hanson's in Monti? Or the Methodist church on Monti hill? My wife had her purse taken from her car in the Briar Oaks neighborhood. See my previous post. I would love to catch this guy and I have a few leads that I am investigating on my own. This has got to stop. I have heard of way too many break ins here in Monti.

[soledad]

I live south of the car dealerships- sw corner of 25 and 94. The sheriff said most of the break-ins were in the area that you mentioned though. He also mentioned that it was usually the passenger side window that was broken with a screw driver.

[afishrmn]

I spent most of the day Saturday doing some comparison shopping so it took a while for me to check back on this forum. First of all, much thanks to everyone on the tips offered. I never thought of checking on hsolist or hsolist, but that seems like good places to start.

In response to some of the posts.......

I live at the north end of Buffalo. Basically between Buffalo and Monticello, close to the apple orchard near 25 and 113. I have spent most of my life in the wright co. area and this wasn't the first time I've gotten "borrowed from". I think the best one that I can recall was when I lived I Monticello and had my car broken into while I was visiting a buddy. Even though my passenger door was not locked, the genious(s) broke the drivers side window to steal my pull-out alpine stereo (remember those type of set-ups where the stereo fit into a metal box which in turn connected to your dash) only the person or people that took the stereo didn't take the box portion with it so not only was I out a radio but it was useless to them as well.

The only thing worse than a low life criminal, is a stupid one.

Unfortunatly, no town big or small is without the criminal element, and from some of the responses you dont have to look to hard to find someone that has a similar encounter.

In response to the comment about locking everything up, you are absolutely, 100% right. I see that in my earlier post I did not mention that the garage was locked up tight so I need to add a service door to the list of items lost, which I already have purchased a replacement for.

My main problem is this......

You can lock everything you own up. You can bolt everything down. But in the end, if they want it bad enough, they will still try to get it. All it does in the end is cost the owner more $$ because they were trying to be more cautious. It seems like the more locks and bolts you put on something, the more thieves will want in.

As far as the police go, I pretty much knew what to expect before they even showed up. I'll catch a sail fish out of pelican lake before much, if any of the property is ever found and returned. But I can't hardly blame the cops for that. I'm sure not everyone will agree with me on this point, but when you consider everyone and there brothers have cell phones these days and every single call has to be responded to, its a wonder any criminals are caught.

I can spend hours just sitting and listening to the police scanner. It is unreal what some people consider an emergency.

Finally, in response to the post pertaining to setting something up with my local bank. That is a very generous thought and very typical of the type of people that view this forum, and although I am sure the response would be very positive I hope that will not be necessary. My main reason for posting was to hopefully issue an early eye opener for everyone. Unfortunatly, I think this is just the beginning of another season for not just the fishing folks, but also the ones that are only out there to make the quick buck.

[zamboni]

As much stuff as they took, did your neighbors see anything?

[afishrmn]

Because everything was already in my fish house sled, I don't really think it took them any time at all to get it.

I haven't talked to any of my neighbors yet, but I will just for the simple fact that I'm curious if anyone else in the neighborhood had anything taken. According to the sheriff, he had not heard from any of them.

[looneyducer]

Quote:

---

My main problem is this......

You can lock everything you own up. You can bolt everything down. But in the end, if they want it bad enough, they will still try to get it.

---

How true. I always feel like if I have to take the time to lock anything up, the bastards have already won.

[icehousebob]

afishrmn, It looks like they were specifically targeting your ice gear. They knew when you were going to have it all gathered together and ready to go. To me, that sounds like someone in the neighborhood or at least someone familiar with it. Some random thief could not have been that lucky to catch you with it all loaded up. Start looking close to home. Good luck.