Car Stolen...Found! and Funnies!
So I stepped out of the shower this morning at 7:30 and the phone rang. The caller said he found a bunch of my stuff when he was walking his dog this morning. I ran outside, sure enough my car is gone, along with the messenger bag I use for work which I foolishly left in the car. The good sumaritan had found my checkbook (among other things) that had my phone number on it. He gathered up what he could find and brought it to my house.
I live in a residential neighborhood within the Pittsburgh city proper. I have a rear yard and a small front yard and park my car along the street in front like everyone else on my street. My car is a 94 gray Lexus ES300 sedan with 150K miles on it. It looks like an old Toyota Camry. Not at all fancy. From what I could gather, the car thief took the car somewhere between 11pm to 7am. Drove to this park about 1/2 mile away, dumped everything out of the car, the trunk and my bag then took what he deem valuable then drove off.
Strangely, instead of taking the whole bag, the thief dumped the content, took my mp3 player, a PDA, a calculator and my leather portfolio with some useless work document from the bag. LEFT THE CHECKBOOK ON THE GROUND. Out of my trunk, he took the football (??), but left my hockey skates, rollerblades, my kids' rollerskates and a few hockey sticks. He made off with my car and took the two baby seats with him.
The worst part of it is that I had my passport, social security card and my green card in the bag, which were not retrieved. It's my own stupid fault for carrying that stuff with me and not having backup copies. This has me a little bit worried. So far I have filed a fraud alert with the credit report companies and an alert with my bank, in case of identity theft. Plus I have to file them stolen and try to get new ones issued so I can have my identity back. Luckily I still have my driver's license and I am grateful for getting as much of my stuff back as I did.
I have filed a police report and I'm waiting to hear back from my insurance company. I'm a little bit puzzled why the thief didn't take my checkbook but decided to take my identity paper instead. But I'm thinking this probably just a local hooligan ripping me off and taking my car for joyride and my identity papers are just sitting in a ditch somewhere.
Needless to say, this has been a pretty bad day. Lock your doors everyone (even though my car doors were locked).
Xbox Live: NOVOCAIN1217
Sorry to hear that, man.
I had a car stolen years ago, but the punch line was that the thieves only took it for a joy ride before leaving it on the side of the road (with only a stolen car stereo and broken steering column to show for it).
The worst part of it was that I was already shopping for a new car when I got a letter in the mail from the police saying that the car was recovered and towed to the impound lot. The letter had taken a couple weeks to get to me so I was also responsible to pay for two weeks of parking on contracted lot (roughly $800).
Geeze, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but you'd think the cops could pick up a phone.
Damn that sucks, like really sucks.
As far as the identity papers are concerned, do you know how useful a passport, and a social security number is to people who sell fake id's (not to mention a green card as well), and I'm guessing hoping that you reported the passport stolen to the state departement (or consolate as it seems your not a US citizen, but do tell the state department about the green card), as well as the SS number to the Social Security office. And are you sure that he didn't take one check from you, because all that's really needed is the routing number and account number to transfer money around, whereas writing a check means you have to goto a store and sign something.
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing noise they make as they fly by." -- Douglas Adams
You cant ever rationalize what a crackhead will do.
Aint nothing new about the world order..it's been playing since the day they put George Washington on a quarter
85's face the truth you're too dumb.
http://www.myspace.com/armyofthepharaohs
Wow bad start to a day. Hope everything works out for you in the end.
Never take life too seriously, you'll never make it out alive anyways.
Xbl: Tetnis84
CodexMatt wrote:
Why would he take the baby seats? That's just weird..
Sorry bout your car.
MechaSlinky wrote:
-on L4DCheckbooks aren't what they used to be. The other identification items can be used/altered/sold and somewhat useful to a thief.
Gamer Tag: Rantyr
Sorry to hear that man, I hope you can get it all sorted relatively easily.
St.Hillary wrote:
Commence your hatred, gentlemen.I live in Edmonton but I am from Halifax and one Christmas I went home for the Holidays. Well, when I got home I discovered that someone had tried to break into my car. None of my windows were smashed but they were all rolled down. A bunch of paneling was ripped off the steering column.
For what ever reason they did not get away with the car but when I tried to move it one of the wheels would not move and I could not really turn the wheel. I don't know anything about cars so I just had to take it in to get fixed.
It was such a pain in the ass. I support the death penalty for things like that.
Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope everything works itself out.
Reminds me of one weekend when I was home alone with my best friend. We had a cheap, kind of beaten up car out in front that my dad had bought my sister for her first car. My sister was gone and my dad was staying the night at his girlfriend's house. It was somewhere around 7am where my friend came into my room, waking me up, saying "Hillary, wake up, there's a guy trying to take your sister's car." I of course jumped up and went out to see what the hell was going on. I walked out to some guy (somewhere in early 20's) standing in my doorway, door wide open, saying that the car out front was his friend's car. I told him it was impossible since we bought the car from a family friend, and they were the only previous owners. He had actually somehow gotten into the locked car and rummaged around in the glove compartment and was trying to prove it was his friend's car by showing me paper's that only further proved to me it was still the family friend's previous car. I told him that he can come back later to show me some actual proof it is his friend's car, but until then, he should get out of my house and away from my property before I get the cops involved.
Needless to say he left and never came back. I'm pretty sure he was on drugs or something.
I did live a block away from a frat house and the city's college after all.
Nonetheless, it was weird as hell.
/rambling
Oh holy titties on toast, Batman!
Ouch, my wife and I know how much those cost to replace after she lost hers. Hopefully it all turns up soon and you don't have to deal with USCIS.
Spore | Steam | WoW: Terenas: Oogrik
Never had a car stolen. Someone did break into my car once, but they didn't bother taking anything.
That's when I first felt poor.
Hatchet Job - intelligent and irrevent gaming discussion.
Oddest car break-in story I've heard:
A buddy of mine drove a Civic, nothing special about it. He stopped at a corner store and ran in to get a couple of things. When he got out a few minutes later, his stereo was gone, as were his CDs and a couple of other things. The kicker? Apparently the thieves used his antenna as a jimmy, as it had been snapped, then left on the driver's seat -- bent into the shape of a heart.
MechaSlinky wrote:
-on L4DFootballs left on the ground in public parks sometimes get re-appropriated by passersby.
As for the rest, I hope the damage stops there. That way you can look at the stock market and maybe feel superior.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
I had my SS Card stolen a couple years ago. Invest in some sort of fraud protection for a year, just to be safe. For months after, they would call me every couple weeks to confirm that no I had not opened another CC. They finally got the guy.
"I can't knife you right now. I have a chair and some pants."
Oh man, you aren't kidding. It's close to $400 just to replace it. I had put off naturalization for years because I didn't feel like shelling out the $700 fee. I wonder if they'd just let me naturalize for $700 instead of green card first then naturalize ($400+$700).
So far so good I guess. No fraudulent activities in my name for the past 2 days. My insurance will reimburse me on car rental so I'm set up with a vehicle for now. The claim and appraisals are in the works. The police is actively searching my car (hahahaha). I think I may have to start a new thread soon asking for recommendations on a new (used) car.
Xbox Live: NOVOCAIN1217
That sucks man. I hope you get things sorted out quickly and without any unnecessary complications.
It's true, a lot of retailers no longer accept paper checks. Those that do scrutinize them far more than they do credit/debit cards.
I hate you soo much Phil Collins!
Pharacon wrote:
PSN = AmazingZoidberg
My car was stolen earlier in the summer. Here if you don't find it within the first week, it was probably used to commit a crime, then set on fire and driven into the canal. I never saw it again.
The crappiest part is the paperwork, for sure. I had to track down receipts and titles I never thought I'd need, or kept in my glovebox. Where else am I going to keep the receipt that gives me free roadside assistance because I bought new tires (this led to a saga of my trying to use google maps to locate the B.F.E. nowhere town and gas station I got my tires changed last year)? And I've been bitched out by more than one cop for not keeping my title in the glovebox. I guess you're supposed to make copies. Live and learn. I wasn't dealing with identification documents, and it still took months to resolve all this. Meanwhile I had no car, couldn't afford a rental, and was trying to pay my Fall tuition.
The car insurance lady actually laughed at me when I tried to list the car's contents by memory.
"Um, a few books, a cookbook, a can opener, some mix tapes, a Rock Band guitar..."
"YOU SPOIL, YOU GET SPOILED! AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Man, so sorry to hear about this. I hope things work out o.k., or the best they can under the circumstances. D***
XBL: DonanGWJ
PSN: Toxdon
That would be nice of them, but we're a bit bitter cynical towards USCIS after all the hassle they've put us through (we've got some horror stories about dealing with them).
Just browsing through the USCIS site, you'll need a photocopy of your green card, both sides, to submit the N-400, just assuming that's the one you'll need. So unless you have a back up copy...
N-400 Document Checklist
Spore | Steam | WoW: Terenas: Oogrik
Oh goodness, the police called my estranged wife (??! but I guess it's a honest mistake since our numbers are only 1 digit off) and left her a message my car is in the City impound lot. So I called the impound lot and the impound lady started yelling at me and said my car isn't there and call back in a few hours.
I'm worried that they didn't ask for me to pick up the car where they found it meant they had no choice but to tow it. I'm worried to find out what condition the car is in. I'm assuming I should pick up the car from the impound lot and the insurance will reimburse me for any fee incurred.
Who knew getting your car stolen is such a hassle?
Xbox Live: NOVOCAIN1217
Congrats on them finding it, hopefully it's all in one piece. I've never heard of police calling you to get it where they found it, the impound lots have to make their money off you first. And I'll betcha insurance won't cover that fee either... but at least you get the car back!
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Maybe it's a low-rider now, you never know...
Fear the flames...
Glad to hear you got it back, though. My wife used to own a 97 Saturn that was stolen from in front of her place about twice a month for almost a year. Every time, it was impounded and she found it in pretty much the same shape as it was in when she lost it. It happened so often that she was on a first-name basis with the impound folks, and having the car stolen and retrieved became a pretty casual part of her month. I guess what I'm telling you is that it doesn't necessarily have to be a hassle :/
The weirdest thing was that after the first couple thefts, she never left anything but trash inside the car (honestly she used to move so often she rarely had anything of value in it anyway), and yet it was still stolen pretty regularly. The radio was never touched, probably because there wasn't even a tape deck to take. The windows were never even broken. I often wondered why they would waste their time on such a pile, or since they did waste time, why not just bust the window and hop in, but as Game Guru said, you can never rationalize what a crackhead will do...
Boy, I just saw this. Sorry to hear of your troubles, especially as I live about 200 yards outside of city limits. If I can help somehow, feel free to PM me.
XBox Live: PoppinfreshGWJ
LobsterMobster wrote:
My wife reminded me that we had some friends who had their car broken into while it was sitting outside their home in Highland Park. They were coming back from a funeral two days ago and found it broken into. Another Highland Park friend says that there have been a number of break-ins lately and police are stepping up patrols, at least around Highland Park.
XBox Live: PoppinfreshGWJ
LobsterMobster wrote:
Oh Poppin, I live in Morningside, just a skip and a hop away from Highland Park (and East Liberty). Although I found out my car was recovered in Stanton Heights. All within Police Zone 5 though.
So after paying $50 at the impound, I drive my car out still in good condition. The thieves took down my license plate and put up a new one. No broken window, no dangling loose ignition wires. The steering felt a bit loose and the acceleration felt a bit weird, but that maybe from some curb jumping the thieves did or it may even be psychological. It's going to the mechanics tomorrow morning to get a good once over inspection, just in case anything needs fixed so I can report it to the insurance.
And this where the funny part starts...
I open the car door at the impound lot. The first thing I saw was my stolen PDA sitting on the seat. Sweet! I see the thieves have been playing Hearts on my Palm Pilot. There was a case of bottled water in the backseat. A stuffed Halloween toy doll in the middle. The car reeked of cigarette and tobacco smoke and I found a bag with an old-school wooden pipe, some loose tobacco and some rolling paper. There were two film (non-digital) cameras in the car. In the trunk was a folded up stroller with a baby diaper bag, a discman and a whole bunch of sh*tty music CD-Rs. In the glove compartment were some gum and a GPS unit!
So I proceeded to drive to the police station to find out exactly what the story was. They told me someone had called the police about the car and when the cop ran the license plate it came up unregistered. He then ran the VIN number, found out it was stolen from me then it was off to the pound it went.
I proceeded to tell the officer that I found all these extra junk in my car. The nice police man said, 'Just keep it.' It took me a few minutes to convince him that I want to report these items and add them to the police report. I don't expect them to dust for finger prints or trace the items back to the owner. For all I know, all of these items could be stolen from someone else anyway. But I did find a ATM receipt. Apparently the thieves drove my car to the ATM and deposited $400 in his account last night. The receipt had the bank name, address, time of deposit, deposit amount and even the last 4 digits of the guy's account number. I didn't know how to make it any clearer to the cop, so I told him that it may be useful to him.
Okay. I did keep the GPS. Karma will probably come back to haunt me. The GPS had addresses stored in the memory and one of them was labeled 'HOME.' I was half giggling when I called the cop back and gave him the address. I know the GPS can very well be stolen from the original owner at the 'HOME' address. But I wasn't about to go knock on their door and ask them about it.
I never did recover my 30G Creative Zen mp3 player, my passport or my green card. But I'm happy to have my car back, even if it does reek of smoke.
Xbox Live: NOVOCAIN1217
I wouldn't be surprised if the cameras had photos of the car thieves. Glad you have your car back!
http://dustygamer.mcmuumio.net | Xbox Live Gamertag MC Muumio
Glad you got your car back and I hope it all turns out ok for you.
You know what the funniest thing is. On any of the CSI show's the stuff you found would be considered a treasure trove of evidence which they would diligently collect, sift through, and get DNA evidence from in order to put the people responsible behind bars. In real life, apparently, they don't give a crap.
"Can I have a job? I donut have much experiences, butt I always use an spellchecker spellchecker on my articles." - Sway
Using Prayer To Microevolve Latent Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria since 2005!
Spoiler Fanatic!
Welcome to reality! DNA test are still fairly expensive though, and without soemthing to match the samples against, there is little justification (financially at least) to spend the money on the tests. I am somewhat disappointed that the police didn't seem to care too much about the guys personal information that was left in the vehicle (or that of other of his victims potentially), I'd have thought they would have jumped at the chance to just collect that data (although it might not hold up in court because the "chain" had been broken when the vehicle was unimpounded, thus making any evidence they got from those items ininadmisable)
"Also, I have four legs and am covered in wool. Baa!" *Legion* reveals his inner furry.
Funny stuff. Glad you got your car back, and hey at least you got a good story to tell at parties out of the deal.
Now hopefully the regaining your identity proccess goes well too.
I hate you soo much Phil Collins!
Pharacon wrote:
PSN = AmazingZoidberg