[spk7951]

Just received the following email from one of our neighbors about what happened to his wife this am at Sarasota Driving range. For privacy I deleted out their names.


This morning she went to Sarasota Driving range to practice and while she was either chipping or driving, someone stole her purse from the basket on her golf cart. Her purse was wrapped in a golf towel and had a golfball shag bag on top of it. There were a couple of women and several men at the range when she was there. She believes that one of them was watching her hide her purse. She didn't realize it was missing until she got to Sandhill Executive course. She immediately backtracked but to no avail.

When she told me what had happened, I told her to report the theft to the Sumter Sheriff's office which she did. The Sheriff's Department insisted on sending a Deputy to our home to take a report. The deputy arrived very quickly and took the information on what was missing which were her identification cards and two credit cards. When we went to the driver's license bureau, they wanted the number of the police report which saved us around $50.00 although we had to produce her social security card, birth certificate, two documents showing she lived at our address, and her passport. We had to get a new Village ID card, etc. and cancel the credit cards and cell phone which was taken also.
We spent this afternoon getting all this fixed. Luckily there were no keys in the purse.

The point that we think you ought to be aware of is that this thief was most likely a Villager since you can only enter the driving range by golf cart. She hopes letting you know about her experience will make it less likely to happen to you.

[GeorgeT]

Very sorry for your loss but I think the point would be don't leave valuables in your golf cart because you never know who's watching.

[angela1990]

Where is the Sarasota Driving Range?

[rhredd1654]

Originally Posted by angela1990

Where is the Sarasota Driving Range?

On 466A near the Bonifay CC.

On second thought, I have mistakenly left my keys, etc in my cart when I double up with someone else to play golf, only to return an find everything as I left it....many, many times. I would hope an example is made of the thief, once found, especially if it's a Villager.

[Figmo Bohica]

And it is so safe and everyone is wonderful in the Villages. People are people and there are scum in every place.

Sorry about your loss, hope you got everything cancelled before they had time to use any of your information.

[aln]

Sad but True
I'm as 'casual' about life as the next person.

Lost my wallet out of my pocket while driving my cart on a street near southern trace. A villager found it, called me, and I got it back.......GREAT.

Took same wallet to the Chula pool in a small bag with my phone. Placed it on a table like I have for 5 years. When I was ready to leave, picked up the bag and said to myself "it's lighter". ... . .. wallet gone.

Ya gotta be carefull EVERYWHERE!

[faithfulfrank]

Sorry to hear this.

You might want to check with your cellphone provider. I have an app on my iphone that locates it if missing or stolen, and I can remotely disable it, etc.

It might help.

Frank

[missypie]

It is so sad, we can not trust anyone or anything. Even in TV.....so sad....

[billethkid]

Also do not assume because they were in a golf cart they were a villager. Golf carts are easy to access by non villagers to go anyplace just as the residents do. A couple of years ago it was discovered there was a husband and wife team going around different neighborhoods in a golf cart casing homes. They were also noted to be on the golf course as well as across from golf courses casing with binoculars.
Hence golf cart does not have to = a resident.

btk

[chuckster]

a nice looking young man (non-resident, 20's) was the culprit stealing golf clubs from the "secure" parking behind the courses several years ago. Turned out he lived north of 42 and somehow crossed that road in a golf cart to get to the villages. Guess what I'm trying to say is that there are many examples and not all were villagers with golf carts.

[spk7951]

Originally Posted by Figmo Bohica

And it is so safe and everyone is wonderful in the Villages. People are people and there are scum in every place.

Sorry about your loss, hope you got everything canceled before they had time to use any of your information.

They were able to quickly get the cell phone and credit cards canceled. Net financial loss was $15.
Bottom line is as much as we like to describe life here as being in a "bubble" the realty is that we are not that far removed from the real world.

[Figmo Bohica]

That is something that most living here do not believe. Just look at the little and not so little towns around us. Florida has a huge un-employed number and it is getting worse. TV is one of the only bright spots in the state as far as work goes. The paper is full of crime against persons in the surround area. How long do you think it will take when the handouts stop before we see a raise in crime against persons in TV? Who has money and valuables and who do criminals think will be the least able to protect themselves? I believe to always be prepared for the worst and never have to use it, instead of never being prepared and caught without protection.

I am glad that you only suffered a $15 lose. It could have been much worse if you had not found your missing purse for a few hours.

[Moderator]

I'm going to attempt to move the posts dealing with shooting ranges/concealed weapons to a new thread and prune this one to stick to the incident of theft at a GOLF driving range.

Gentle reminder.... please try to address the original topic. If you have a different thought/topic, feel free to start a new thread.

Thanks.