[Leica] Leicas stolen - LUG strikes back!

["Jim Laurel" <jplaurel@nwlink.com>]

This is an amazing story of luck and coincidence that I just had to share...

Some of you may remember my posting from a few months ago regarding the
theft of my M7 along with 28 and 50 Summicrons and Elmarit 90 from the KFC
in Kent, Washington.  I also filed a police report as a matter of course,
but it was the LUG and vigilant LUGger, Ted Bayer, that saved my bacon!

A few weeks after my posting, Ted happened to be at Robe's Camera Store in
Tacoma, Washington.  During his conversation with the store owner, Ron, he
learned that a young girl had called the store trying to sell a Leica M7 and
an assortment of lenses.  Her story was apparently that the "old" camera had
been given to her by her grandmother.

Ted thought that the equipment might be mine and forwarded my LUG posting to
Ron, who called the girl back saying he might like to purchase the equipment
from her.  A meeting was organized, and the girl showed up with the
equipment, her boyfriend and two small children.  Ron checked the serial
numbers and sure enough, it was my lost Leica gear!  The police were called,
the equipment confiscated, and the girl was given a ticket.  (wha wha wha
WHAT?)

I knew nothing about this until a couple of weeks later, when Ted emailed me
saying "...heard you got your equipment back - good for you..."  I'd not
heard anything from the police, so proceeded to follow up.  None of the
authorities involved seemed to know anything about the case, so it took a
few days for them to sort everything out and get my name associated with the
case.  The District Attorney's office was surprised that she'd only been
given a ticket, when the value of the property was significantly higher than
misdemeanor levels.  The detective in charge of the case was incredulous
when I emailed him with the retail values for each piece.  It goes to show
you how little people know about Leicas.  To the police officers, it was
just an old-fashioned camera.

It turns out that the young girl who stole the equipment was actually an
employee of the KFC.  She immediately admitted to the crime, but said she
had done it to provide a better environment for her children.  I don't
understand how one provides a better environment for children by becoming a
felon, but that was her argument.  She was remanded to some sort of
counseling program for treatment.  I just picked up the equipment this
morning.  It is all in good working order with no apparent signs of
mistreatment.

So... A BIG THANK YOU to Ted Bayer for his assistance in recovering my
equipment, and also to Ron at Robi's in Tacoma, WA, for taking the
initiative to engage the thief and bring her to justice.

Lessons learned:
1. Keep an eye on your gear
2. Associate with people of good character like the members of the LUG  ;-)
3. Stay away from KFC!

- --Jim Laurel

- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html