It's gone

[Jeff]

Sunday I came up to the cabin with Pete and Lynda for the first day of bow season which was yesterday, yesterday Tammy called to inform me that during the night monday night, someone broke into our barn and stole my beloved stihl chainsaw Tammy got me for my 50th birthday as well as the new stihl string trimmer she bought me this summer with her babysitting money.  The cops came, but there is probably not much hope of ever getting it back. Our insurance has a $500 deductible, so I'd be way off from ever being able to replace it if I claimed it.  Looks like I'm back to having an old worn out rancher for a saw.  I've been sick to my stomach since she broke the news. This after being robbed of $420 by someone I did some work for, that then had a dispute with a friend of mine, so in retaliation, he went after me and did two chargebacks on his credit card that he paid me with.  I did the work, the work was approved and accepted, I was asked to submit an invoice, which was paid. then over a month later, he withdrew payment. I had all of this documented, Work order, his approval, and his instructions to invoice yet my dispute of the fact that he stole from me was denied by his credit card company and I am out. The loss of those funds is actually one of the two major reason we cancelled out going to Paul Bunyan as that was our traveling money.

Being the victim of one thief is bad, especially when you thought he was your friend, but the unknown thief that took my saw, that seems worse.

[Den Socling]

I know what you mean, Jeff. During the spring somebody stole one of my kayaks. It was old and I probably would have given it to him if he had asked. But having it stolen is something else. You have to feel violated and helpless.

[Magicman]

Having dealt with this I fully know your feelings because it is such a violation of your personal life.

I always replace my bushhog blades with newly hammered ones before I bushhog the "Straw Field".  When I reached for the set of 4 sharpened blades Monday, they were not there.  I have never locked the blades up in over 10 years, but I now know that they were another victim of the "wheel barrow" burglary.  Sold for scrap metal.   :-\

[jueston]

some fools broke a window in my car a few months back, they rifled through my things and then just walked away, there wasn't even anything in the car worth stealing...

for a month after that I would wake up in the middle of the night and look out the window to see if there was anyone hanging around outside, after it happened, I felt like every night when I went to sleep it was going to happen again....

sorry to hear this happened to you.

[Peter Drouin]

Sorry to hear that  Boss. But I know how it feels.
Had 2 of my saws taking out of my barn. Now I am locking what I can.

[Sixacresand]

Sorry about that.  I dread the day when It happens to me.  I just read where a guy near us had his $25K tractor stolen and just happen to be driving down the road two days later and saw it behind a pickup so followed and call the sheriff.  His serial numbers matched and he took it home.  Lucky.

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

I doubt the thief stole it to use cutting his firewood. I'd be checking Craigslist and the pawn shops...

Herb

[deerslayer]

I agree with others that the feeling of being violated is much more troublesome than the actual monetary loss from a theft. I lost a nice logsplitter earlier this year and still keep watching for it. It is very distinctive and even 20 years from now I would know it immediately.

I am in the Miami airport leaving for the Amazon jungle (if it's still there, heard they cut it down) and since I'll be gone for 6 weeks I locked up all my trailers with one great big long chain I picked up at an auction. Hope everything is there when I get back.

If someone tries to steal my Bobcat, they are going to get a shower of hydraulic fluid just like I did recently. Waiting on parts...

Regarding the friend, guess you found out where that stands. Regarding the saw, that's nuts and bolts and can be replaced by 100 others. Family and loved ones are what's not replaceable. Hope they catch the scoundrel.

[thecfarm]

Don't even get me going. I'd be bared for life out of the FF.  >:(  I have even heard through the grape vine that I was told,Well they have a job,they can just buy another one.  :

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

This is heart breaking and enough to make someone sit down and cry or shoot somebody.
There's nothing we can say to make you and Tammy feel better but I will say this to the cooks that stole.......
"What goes around comes around!"

[Den Socling]

This reminds me of another time. Nothing big. Just a little spruce tree one of my kids brought home for Arbors Day. It was growing in our yard but too close to the road. It had a real pretty shape. One December, some low life scum cut it down for his Christmas tree. Can you imagine sitting in your living room looking at a Christmas tree you stole. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Some people need hanged by the neck. They aren't fit to live in society.

[Axe Handle Hound]

Jeff- You don't happen to have the serial numbers do you?  If you do I'd post them all over CL, call all the local pawn shops, and the licensed Stihl dealers/service centers.  Just spreading the word that someone is stealing equipment will help everyone else to be aware and lessen the chance it happens again.  Chances are really slim you'll get them back, but if you do manage to find even one piece of your equipment you'll have given one more thief their just reward.  I can't stand thieves.   

[Corley5]

Wow!!  That suxs really bad :(  I've got regular firewood thief who watches my roadside racks of wood and when my Grandmother whose yard they're in leaves for the winter.  For two seasons within days of her leaving two hundred bux worth of wood was stolen before I got the wood secured.  Two years prior it was stolen within a couple weeks.  Last year I broke the racks down and sold the wood the day after she left.  I'm doing that again this year too.  I have an idea who it may be but that's it.  I'd rather not know for sure actually.  It wouldn't be good.... 

[WildDog]

When we receive a special present that has taken that extra effort to raise the funds such as in this case Tammy's babysitting money it builds on our love and respect for each other. That's one thing these thieving gronks can't take of us.

I wonder what its like to live in a family where dad the "crim"  comes home with a bike for the kids birthday and when questioned on affordability says, "It's ok I ripped it off.

[goose63]

Few year's back run a guy off at 3am driveway is 1/4 emptied a20 round mag form m14m1a over the roof aint had any trouble after that word got around darn fast hope you get your stuff back

[LeeB]

File criminal charges against the so called friend. It's called theft by appropriation, akin to a hot check. Sorry to hear about all your misfortune.

[isawlogs]

 Sorry to hear of the loss, I know the feeling all too well, it hurts down inside thinking about it. Have no use for that type, Just the thought makes my blood boil.  >:( >:(

[WmFritz]

Jeff, I hope your sitting in your stand, enjoying the woods. I know how hard it is to block out  these unfortunate events.

Around 12 years ago, I came home from snowmobiling and found a brand new set of aluminum corvette heads and a complete engine gone from the garage. The heads were on a shelf, under my work bench. Whoever stole them, knew where they were. The engine wasn't worth a lot. I had rebuilt it 10 years prior and had lived in three different trucks.  The aluminum intake probably made it look more appealing. I always believed it was probably a friend of a friend of one of my kids. Fortunately for me, those two items are the only thing in a garage full of tools they stole. I really thought that in my small town, eventually  somebody would talk but, I never found out who the thieves were.

I have to agree with  Corley5  that its probably better that I never found out. I'm still angry. >:(

[SPIKER]

Around here years back, (not sure if it still going on or not) thieves were targeting people out of Obituaries when services were posted in paper.   The family members homes were hit and I happened to have my car parked at my GFs when her dad was laid to rest.   They used screw driver to jam lock (broke it) stole radio face plate 200+ worth of CDs my radar detector and a few other things, cut my seat belt (automatic type.)   They hit one of the other family members trailer and stole stuff out of the inside.   They tried to get into her house but we had big loud doberman which apparently turned them around.    Cops said ya been happening a lot... ???    Took almost 10 years of this happening till they set up a sting & caught some crack heads I'm guessing but nothing of ours was ever recovered.

Having something stole leave you feeling violated for a long time I still get angry when I think about it..

Mark

[easymoney]

some thieves are pretty dumb. like riding around with a stolen tractor on a trailer in broad daylight where the owner might see you.
a few years ago some thieves was caught stealing copper from a unoccupied building in my town . they made bond then was caught in the same building stealing copper again the next day.
that is an idea leave a hydraulic line loose so if they try to steal a piece of equipment they will get a hydraulic shower when they try to raise the bucket. some of them might sue you for sitting a trap tho and some judges would make you pay for sitting a trap.

[sawguy21]

Karen has a disabled parking tag that hangs from the inside mirror. It went missing about a year ago so was replaced. A couple of nights ago the neighbor drove in with one hanging from the mirror, it disappeared when she saw me looking at it. She definitely does nor qualify for one but I can't prove it is ours unless I catch her with it. It is a minor thing but still very frustrating. Leave our stuff alone DanG it, we work hard for what we have. >:( Had our truck stolen a couple of years ago, got it back with minor damage. We were lucky.

[terry f]

   What comes around goes around, and karma.

[Al_Smith]

More times than not stolen chainsaws get fenced at pawn shops .If I'm not mistaken if you have the serial numbers you can register it at Stihls stolen list .If it ever shows up for repairs at an authorized Stihl dealer you stand a chance of recovery or at least the satisfaction it was found .

[Chuck White]

I hate a theif! >:(

[petefrom bearswamp]

Sorry to hear the bad news from Harrison.
Hang in there Jeff.
My mill is 1/4 mile from the nearest road and i have been lucky so far.
25 years ago our house was entered through a window and 2 handguns and about $40 in cash stolen.
I say entered because the door was unlocked as we didn't lock in those days.
The dumb SOB's could have walked in through  the door.
We started locking every entry point since then.
Ins paid for everything even replacing the cash.