Asking for help & be aware!
 

In the Poinciana area (Sullivan Villages specifically) one of the neighbors placed her luggage on the curb waiting for the shuttle to the airport. So much for a secure area (dead end street). In the house for a short period to come out and find it gone. We are speculating that since it is trash day someone was combing the area for items that might be of use. Trash is still here so it wasn't picked up by mistake. There are items of value but certain papers/files where in the cases and are of importance. If any one notices a pair of discarded suitcases (large black & gray roll aboard) anywhere around or has seen anything or anyone searching the area please respond to this message. Community watch and Police have been notified. Reward offer.

Theft Of Suitcases This Morning, 3/22/2011
 

At about 11:30 am this morning, our friend's suitcases were stolen from her driveway when she went into the house to close up. When she returned to the driveway to meet the airport shuttle, her suitcases had been taken.

She lives on Bonham Lane in Sullivan Villas. She had important papers in her carry-on and her jewelry, including her U of Kentucky earrings from college days. She reported the theft to the police, who naturally said, "There's not much we can do."

Be cautious. As unlikely as such events are, especially here in The Villages, it can happen. And, if anyone tries to sell you some UK earrings, please identify them to the police.

I really think that someone thought that it was to be thrown away.
Anything decent that is near the trash is usually picked up by trash pickers before the truck comes by. And, possibly someone will realize the error and try to find the owner. May have to post flyers or something, because who (whom?) ever picked it up probably doesn't know where to return it.

How horrible and sad. Check neighbors around that house to see if anyone has a surveillance camera that might have captured anything helpful; also is there any gated entrance nearby and does it have a surveillance camera that could be checked? - I'm not sure if this is done at the gates or not.

Since so many important and valued belongings were taken, I would also think about putting an ad in the paper offering a reward; just in case 'someone who knows something' bites.

I seem to agree that it was a mistake. surely they will realize this. We always set stuff out my the end of our driveway and people take it. we never have to hall anything away. sometimes they come to the door and ask but usually it is fair game. Hope they are returned. We still live in Indiana.:police:

UK Earrings In Stolen Suitcases
 

Freeda,

I see you are from Kentucky. One of the most upsetting losses in the stolen suitcases was a pair of UK earrings she had had since a cheerleader at UK.

Jerry

I'm sorry to hear of this unfortunate incident. I would never had thought sometime so bad could happen in a short time.

I hope she recovers all of her valuables.

There is another post about this. I believe that the trash pickers thought it was for the trash and picked it up before the trash trucks arrived.

That said, if everyone believes that is was a theft, instead of an honest mistake, the pickers will be less apt to return it, being afraid of being accused of theft.

Put out posters, perhaps offering a reward, for the no questions asked return of the suitcases.

I know that almost anything put on the curb is picked up in a short time by someone. Maybe, hopefully, this is the case. A misunderstanding.

Yup today was trash-pickup day! I'd call the trash company to inquire if they have them. They may be full of "yuck" but it would be worth getting the important stuff back. THIS really is a terrible thing to happen. I feel so sorry for the lady and the stress of the incident!! But next time we travel it will make us stop and think!!!

Good points.

Was the airport shuttle picking her up at her driveway?? I didn't think they did that. Was the shuttle there when she came back outside? If so, was the driver new?

I'd also check around with neighbors. It's possible they saw an unfamiliar car or something, but didn't know about the missing suitcase.

I'm very sorry to read this and hope somehow she gets her belongings back.

The guys on those garbage truck pick up anything that is at the end of the dirveway....even useable stuff gets tossed in the crusher. Was the suitcase at the end of the driveway??

How/why would anyone think that they were "junk" or just being tossed simply because of the weight when they picked them up? DUH! Seems like a no-brainer to me.:confused:

Jersey. Is it your neighbor?

I only ask because sometimes rumors get started and are passed like wildfire.

Anyway, is this someone YOU know or a neighbor of someone you know?

I hope it was a mistake.

How early was it? The shuttle picks up Sweetie at our home sometime as early as four in the morning.

It doesn't seem probable that someone is going to hang out that early waiting to steal someone's luggage.

I am just trying to find out the exact facts.

Please don't be hurt by these questions.

Hi, Jerry, yes, I saw that; and Lexington (where Univ of Ky is, for those who don't know) was my hometown; so that made me extra sad for her. Those irreplaceable keepsakes mean so much. I hope that she recovers them.

P, just answering the part of your question about the shuttle picking you up at your home. No, the shuttle doesn't. BUT, the shuttle service will send a taxi to pick you and your luggage up from your front door. There is no additional charge.

I took the shuttle back to Orlando airport in February and was shocked and awed when I called about the shuttle and was asked if I needed a ride from my house to the shuttle. You just need to request the taxi a day in advance. This life is amazing and wonderful.

This is very sad. However, I doubt it would be the garbage truck at 11:30 in the morning, unless it was very, very late.

From my understanding of what was written, it was definitely not the garbage company -- they came after. I'm willing to bet it was someone who drove by, saw a nice suitcase near the trash and thought it was to be thrown away. They, in all innocence (since this is a common practice in TV, picked up the suitcase and went on their merry way. Hopefully, when they open the suitcase, they'll figure out that it was not trash but rather was someone going on a trip and will return it (if not too embarassed). Even so, I would definitely put an ad in the paper and put out flyers offering a small reward and no questions asked so that whoever took it won't be embarassed to bring it back.

I would say the one lesson is never put something close to the curb that isn't okay to pick up, regardless of the day. Many of us are thrilled with the "bargains" we've found on drive-bys. If it is close to the curb, it is assumed that it is there for the taking. That's just the way of things here.

I truly hope your neighbor gets her belongings back.

Lesson is don't put stuff out on the driveway and leave it.
I hope they find it.

Shuttles and Shuttles
 

Actually, she uses a "private" shuttle service that picks up at the door and drives to the airport, not a taxi to the shuttle stations here in The Villages.

Jerry

Was probably earlier, as she called about 11:30 am and she had already called and been interviewed by the police.

Lesson: Be especially careful about what you set on your driveway on garbage day. The scavengers are about and not always honest folk.

Not only here......its like that everywhere.

We live in Belvedere and the trash pick up has been as late as 11:30 recently ---Also know that there are people who drive by on trash day and take things that they view as non-trash. When we first moved here we put out a grill on trash day that was in the backyard and rusted through and through. Before the trash collectors came, someone stopped and asked if they could take it---he said his "boss" told him if he saw things that might be "good" on trash day to stop and collect if o.k. with owners. He took the grill. We put out bathroom scales a few weeks ago with the trash and they were gone before the trash man came. I hate this happened---could have been a theft--could have been the trash men and could have been those "gleaners" that come through the neighborhoods. I hope she can recover her items--I can't imagine how she must feel --so violated --especially losing those items that cannot be replaced.

Luggage and private shuttle
 

-----------------
So sorry about the missing luggage. What a nightmare!
Could you kindly give me the name of the private shuttle company? Thanx!

No mistake
 

Gracie - It was my neighbor. Happened about 11:15 am. It was no mistake someone would know suitcases were full and not out for disposal. They were separated from trash pickup.

AWFUL! So it was in broad daylight. And Villa streets do not get much drive through traffic either.

Don't forget that we have a lot of workers in TV. They may drive by at any hour, see something (put out near trash) and pick it up. Just my thought.

For those who cruise TV looking for stuff at the curb
 

they would not go through an evaluation of is this good or not...are they full or not...or any other decision than hey there is some "stuff" at the curb.

The possible wrong doing would be when they open the suit cases and see the contents, how packed. I say possible because here again, they could simply assume it was stuff being tossed.

When we take our stuff to the Goodwill drop off, everything is all neatly folded and "packed"........

It is sad that it happened, however after the fact, the unfortunate reality is the owner and the "collector" share equal guilt!

btk

OR...if it was scavengers, perhaps when they DID open it, they forgot where they got it exactly. But then you said there were papers inside....

Gracie, trying to find some good in this.

Replay
 

Maybe a replay should be done. Place a nice item by the street on the next pickup day and sit in 2 cars in driveways on opposite sides of the house and wait and see. Maybe you'll catch the person. Set a trap catch a mouse.

Daily Sun article
 

I read the article in the Daily Sun this morning on this loss. It seemed to indicate that the trash pickup very well could have been the culprit. The newspaper article states the suitcaees were on the curb in front of her home at about 11 a.m. before her airport shuttle ride arrived Tuesday afternoon. How long was she planning to leave them outside?

No matter where I was living, would I expect anyone to leave 2 unattended suitcases at the end of your driveway - near the trash - with valuable contents in the suitcases totalling about $5,000. Airlines continually tell us NOT to pack jewelry, or very hard to replace items such as legal files, gifts, and address books in checked suitcases. If the jewelry was in carry-on bag, it should have stayed on the woman's arm instead of being put outside unattended. Personally, I never have heard of carrying a basketball inside of a suitcase, either.

It is too bad this accident happened but a lot of the fault goes to the victim. It will be quite hard for her, I'm sure, to collect from her insurance company.

One poster, in this thread or the other thread on this subject, said that the trash was still there. If so, the luggage disappeared before trash pick-up.

It's not surprising that the Daily Sun would report this as an accidental pick-up by the garbage men. (that can't be proven one way or the other.) It sounds much better than reporting that there is possibly a thief roaming around the streets.

If I left my luggage in my driveway, which I have done all my life while waiting for a car service, I would not expect it to be taken the same way I would not expect my car to be taken parked in my driveway.

Heaven help the person that wakes my dogs up early in the morning picking through my trash. I would assume that a burglar is on my property and react accordingly within the laws covering a man's right to protect his home and property. Unless i see a logo for a trash collection service on their clothes I will assume that they are there to rob my house, garage, etc. and act accordingly.

I just love the blame the victim mentality. That always is the best way to approach crime. :( What is your take on someone who lives on a known fault line that has produced major earthquakes in the past but still refuses to move to another location and then dies because of it? See where your blame the victim logic can lead you?

Tbugs, having lived in California, I don't get the analogy. I've always thought that people who live directly on a fault line (think Modesto) are complete and total idiots. So, yes, I would blame the victim if they died because they chose to live on a known fault line.

In this case, I do believe the victim has to take some of the responsibility. If the luggage had been left outside by the garage door or the front door, then there would have been no question that it was not trash. However, if left by the end of driveway, it was basically saying it was there for the taking. It really is a common practice in TV to take items left at the end of the driveway -- whether trash day or not. Look back to posts here where people have been told to just leave old TVs, etc. out and they would be gone the next day.

As to your attitude that you would have the right to shoot someone picking through your trash, good luck! I'm not too convinced you would have a leg to stand on a court of law, even in Florida.

First off you responded to the wrong person. Secondly I was refering to what recently happened in Japan so I guess it is their own fault according to what you said. Thirdly I never said anything about using a gun. As a ccw holder yourself you must know that the Castle Doctrine only applies to someone actually breaking into your house and not merely on your property. I normally like your post but you were wrong on all counts here. chilout

Vinny,

I think I may have missed a post here - was one removed?

But in all honesty, when I read your post about protecting your property, I inferred the same as Dee - that you would go about protecting yourself from burglars with a weapon.

I don't think we should blame the victim - but neither do I think that we can "blame" someone for our errors in judgment. We put a cup of hot coffee between our legs at the drive thru and when it spills - surprise! - we get burned!! Of course the big surprise was on the American consumer when the person who made a REALLY bad choice sued and won!

garbage
 

Just think it was a mistake. Garbage pickers thats all. I have seen suitcases in garbage here before. Just common mistake. I have seen some real nice things thrown out here. They piced it up drove around with it .opened it later thats all. Would you really shoot someone going thru your garbage? Whoa Cowboy//////

First, my apologies to Tbugs. Don't know why I thought it was his post. And, Vinny, I'd quote your post, but it seems to have disappeared, but your implication certainly made it seem that you would shoot.

There's a huge difference between living directly on a fault line, which is what you said and living on an island. Tsunamis are a risk, so are quakes, but they are not a given. Driving a car is a risk. Jumping off a high cliff to the rocks below is a given. A quake as strong as the one that occurred in the Pacific Ocean (not on Japan itself) is, fortunately, very rare. Japan does not get daily quakes. If you live on an active fault line, you do get daily or almost daily quakes. Look at the stats for the town of Modesto, California, they have periods where they get hourly quakes, albeit small ones most of the time. Sorry, I think you have to be nuts to live directly on a fault line or at the top of an active volcano.

Leaving articles near the curb on trash day is a given that they will be picked up -- either by a gleaner or by the trash people.

Another suitcase story.
 

Last month Sweetie flew back to Ohio for business and had one night to stay in our house, was dropped off by co-workers late and was to be picked up by them early.

At around six in the morning, he put his laptop and carryon on the sidewalk in front of our home and went back in to turn on security and check locks. He returned to six police cars and officers shouting for him to put his hands up.

Our neighbors are really nosy.

Thank heavens.

So did he try to make a run for it? :a20:

Nosy neighbors are nice to have in instances like that!

Bill :wave: