Wood taken why I was away from home!!!

owingsia said:

They took about 5 days of wood. . . took about 1/4 cord of oak

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You burn a cord of oak every 20 days?

Some people are just ballsy and think nothing of doing what they did, and in their minds they "justify" what they did by leaving you $12, like that makes it "okay". Never mind the trespassing part...wow.....takes some nerve.

Time to set up a wireless internet camera. Cheap protection. I've been thinking of doing that myself.

That sucks.. They stole from you and trespassed. Them leaving money was just some justification in their head to make them feel they did not steal.

I would be &*^&$ - that being said, once I get my wood shed built in the driveway I am certainly installing a wireless camera to keep watch, I keep my piles out back so unless you know piles are there, they can easily be missed / over looked (i'am also at my 3 year plan) but as soon as I put it in the driveway I know its fair game.

About three years ago I had 20 bags of firewood taken from my driveway, in the middle of the day, while I was home. Rotted is not the word. I would've brained the losers with a round top shovel if I caught 'em.

Pretty bold! A person could get shot in some areas for doing the same thing.

owingsia said:

not only trespassing, not even thinking... someone with this much wood must heat with it! They didnt take a campfire from me, they took heat from me. We have a propane system to heat with... have not used in years.... $12 will not buy enough propane to heat my home the same as the wood they took.

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It's all part of the "me, me, me" mindset; doesn't matter what it does to you, just as long as I get what I want!

I'm betting it is someone you know, or at the least a regular visitor of one of your neighbors. Appears that they had a good idea what you had, where it was, and also that you would be gone for an extended period.

That stinks, sorry to hear it.

owingsia said:

It all burns just fine in a campfire

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I actually prefer burning Pine outside; Makes for a livelier fire, and smells good.

ccmac said:

Pretty bold! A person could get shot in some areas for doing the same thing.

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Like in Indiana.

Did you call the police?

claydogg84 said:

Did you call the police?

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You need to do this. The fact they not only stole, but went out of their way to steal your premium wood tells me they might do it again. I'd put up a couple of signs on your wood piles, and talk to the cops so it's on record. It takes a lot of work to get your wood piles where you want them, and not much lower than a thief.

Yes, call the police. There is always a chance they will get caught somewhere else doing the same thing!

1/4 cord for a camp fire? That's a compact pickup filled roughly to the bed rails.

The thing that puzzles me most about your story is why they even bothered to leave $12 and a note. How could they possibly have thought that much firewood was only worth $12? If it were me, I might even be more irritated by that than if they had stolen it without any pretense of paying.

And picking through your stacks instead of just taking the first stuff they came across was really rubbing it in. Did they even have the decency to re-stack what they moved?

I would be beside myself. Wireless camera linked to smartphone and ask the cops to dust the note for fingerprints.

Ooo, I would be ticked.

Not sure about other areas but I live in a pretty crime free area and the cops would not even respond to a call for a part cord of wood stolen.

DougA said:

Not sure about other areas but I live in a pretty crime free area and the cops would not even respond to a call for a part cord of wood stolen.

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Sounds like a poor excuse for a police department. Not only did they trespass, but they stole proprerty.

A couple years ago I had a knock on my door one day from my neighbor a few miles down the road and his son. His son apparently helped himself to a bit of my wood for a camp fire at a party at his place. I just asked if his son was busy for the afternoon, he said no and I said perfect, come back and pick him up in 4 hours. I bucked and split and the kid did all the lifting and stacking. Got way more done then he took and hopefully he learned a lesson.

jaoneill said:

I'm betting it is someone you know, or at the least a regular visitor of one of your neighbors. Appears that they had a good idea what you had, where it was, and also that you would be gone for an extended period.

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True that. The pilferage was likely done by a local resident. If you haven't filed a police or sheriff report, please do so. The next hit could be your neighbor. The cops may not put a bunch of resources into solving one case of petty theft but several reports with a similar MO will get their attention.

claydogg84 said:

Sounds like a poor excuse for a police department. Not only did they trespass, but they stole proprerty.

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It's time to see the reality. There is no chance of obtaining a conviction for trespass or theft unless the person admits to doing it or if they told someone who is willing to testify against them.

In Ontario, it is not illegal to walk onto other people's land (there are some exceptions such as orchards and vineyards) unless a sign is posted prohibiting trespassing. I have no idea what the laws might be in the state where this occurred. Once a person has left the land without being witnessed, how can you prove they were there? Then, how do you prove stolen wood belonged to you? In all likelihood, it is now a pile of ashes. So the reality is that it's a waste of time for police to investigate. I have no problem calling to inform them so that you have a record of an incident in case it happens another time.

I do feel badly for the OP. My wood piles are a great deal of work for me and if someone stole some, I'd be furious. I have had similar things happen. It should be an inexpensive wake-up call that more signage and security is needed. Having your house broken into is a serious issue that can cause more psychological damage than the value of the contents stolen.

I spent a few hours last night searching for security cameras and all require a power source. That's something many of us do not have in our wood sheds. What might be a much more worthwhile is a discussion on how to hook up a small solar panel and small battery system to power a remote wireless security camera that can feed into our internet router. Any help on that would be appreciated.

owingsia said:

I got laughed at... well sorta... "Im sorry sir, did you say they took wood? Like for construction................. like lumber? Uh sir firewood... really?"

thats about how that conversation went...

As for security etc.. well... I have posted more signs for no trespassing. We have 5 acres of woods with signs all over it etc... now the yard has them too. I let my neighbors know what has happened. I have two neighbors who heat with wood. They were not happy to hear about it. We live right off a main highway so lots of traffic goes by.

My wife is not happy, she is worried that next time they will be inside the fenced in areas or even into the house. We are planning to make a trip to wally world and get something cheap... not sure how it will work because we have animals that will trip motion etc... not to mention that... dear travel through our field (nice for hunting season though.... "Excuse me I need to step on to the porch for a second.... BANG!.... ya'all want to stay for dinner

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