Category: Thefts

OWING MILLS, Md. —A Buzz Lightyear doll was pivotal in thwarting a string of recent thefts in Atlanta. Mid-Atlantic Clothing Recycling, based out of Maryland, used a GPS transmitter to help solve the thefts of clothes from its collection bins. A company employee placed the transmitter in a stuffed Buzz Lightyear doll in bag containing used clothing items.

GPS tracking is a cool idea, but good insurance and accurate records are safe ideas too. You can easily record and manage your collectibles at hobbydb.com. Read more at wmur.com

The museum director had just taken seat at the breakfast table, with newspaper open, when the phone rang. The caller was the CEO of Marklin. That did not bode well. Very rarely he called privately at home and certainly not so early in the morning. The news was devastating and at breakfast, the newspaper was no longer conceivable to read. The scene was much worse than he had feared. The emergency exit door was damaged, display cases with glass over a centimeter thick were broken. Also on the wall with anti-theft cases, there were traces of forced entry.

Auguste Victoria

The complete historic Gauge I, Gauge 0, the Scale 00 from before 1945, steam engines, drive models and most tragically, the valuable ships “Auguste Victoria” and “Mecklenburg” and the extremely rare lighthouse were missing. The valuable figures of the ships, the captain of the “Auguste Victoria” was worth in good condition a 4-digit Euro sum at auction. Partially broken into fragments, a figure, a sailor, even completely, they were and gave testimony about which way the exhibits had left the premises. Clearly the burglars of the valuable pieces could not have been collectors or connoisseurs. The suspicion that the “loot” was subjected to abuse and roughly handled came on. The complete area surrounding the firm’s fence was then searched very carefully, but no more traces were found. Because of the amount of the stolen loot, with around 184 pieces missing, it was suggested that a truck would have been the getaway vehicle.

Read more at Marklinstop.com

A Dalek stolen from a Somerset tourist site has been found on Glastonbury Tor after thieves said it was “too hot.” The prop, which was at Wookey Hole Caves, near Wells, for a Doctor Who exhibition, was taken more than a week ago. A “ransom note” was then issued.

Cave owner Gerry Cottle made appeals for information. In the early hours of Tuesday, staff recieved a phone call telling them where the Dalek was.

Read more at BBC NEWS UK

 

Dobermann Barney was looking after the rare Steiff bear, named Mabel, which had been loaned for an exhibition at Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, Somerset.

The dog ripped the head off the bear and attacked scores of other teddies.

Barney’s owner could only suggest that the bear had a rogue scent on it – or that Barney had become jealous of it.

The bear, made in Germany in 1909, was bought at auction in Memphis, Tennessee, by Somerset aristocrat Sir Benjamin Slade.

Read more at BBC NEWS UK.

A black bear walked into a New Hampshire house through an open door, ate two pears and a bunch of grapes, took a drink from the family fishbowl and grabbed a stuffed bear on its way out the door.

Mary Beth Parkinson said the bear apparently took advantage of the open outside door to get into her kitchen Tuesday in Laconia, about 20 miles north of Concord. She thinks the garage door going up scared the bear enough that it fled the house.

Courtesy of Huffingtonpost.com

Hampshire Police are appealing for information after 80 Star Wars figures – thought to be worth in the region of £20,000 – were stolen from a house in Knowle Village near Fareham. According to a checklist kept by the victim, he had a number of extremely rare figures including the unfortunately named ‘Yak Face’, Darth Vader with ‘telescoping lightsaber’, a Jawa with its original vinyl cape and ‘Blue Snaggletooth’. These figures alone are worth several hundred pounds and a Yak Face recently sold at Vectis Auctions for £280.

The items – which also included 500 DVDs and limited edition items – were stolen while the owner was away between 3pm on Friday, 13th July and 12.30pm on Sunday, 15th July. Detective constable Craig Rainsley said: “This burglary involves the theft of science fiction collectables which are very identifiable.

Courtesy of Collectors Club of Great Britain

Model car collectors in Bridgwater are being urged to be on the lookout after a collection worth £3,000 was stolen. The 143 scale die-cast models were taken during a break-in in South Road, Taunton, between August 23-26. The collection includes 1:43 scale models with many well-known names such as Corgi, Dinky and foreign makes. The cars date back to the 1960s and 1970s. Many were unboxed but in a mint condition.

A brief case, TV, camera, jewellery and other items were also taken.

Courtesy of Bridgwater Mercury

A Dinky toy fanatic has had his priceless collection stolen from his home. Roger Molineux has collected Dinky Toys all his life and owns a total of over 50 of the miniature vehicles which were all in mint condition and in their original boxes. A burglar broke into the Macclesfield home on September 11 and took seven of the vehicles. The stolen vehicles are two grey Rolls Royce models; an electric blue “Ever Ready Batteries” commercial van, and a red “Heinz” commercial van; a small creme Chevolet car; a pale green Land Rover and a blue “Corgi Toy Hillman Husky”. “They have so much sentimental value to me,” said Roger. “The toys are always kept in a box in my room.

“I don’t know why they chose to take them, they are not on view for all to see. I keep the dinky toys in my room.” Roger said that he returned from work at 10.30pm to find a glass panel in the front door had been smashed. Along with the dinky toys, £200 in cash was stolen from the bedroom.

Courtesy of Macclesfield Express

 

An 85-year-old man had his collection of model trains stolen while he was in hospital. The man started his collection in 1977 and several trains, wagons and carriages were stolen by thieves who broke into his shed. He was in hospital from May 9-July 9 and discovered the break-in at his home in Ninnings Road, Chalfont St Peter, when he returned home from hospital.

Among the items stolen are a GNR Green Locomotive, a Wren Railway engine and a model of the Flying Scotsman. Also missing is a black plastic dustbin which may have been taken to carry the stolen property.

Courtesy of Bucks Free Press

 

A burglary took place at a property where 24 pieces of valuable model train equipment was stolen. The incident took place in The Street, Pakenham, some time between Monday March 19 and Wednesday March 21.

Offenders managed to open a hatch and climb into the shed, exiting via a double glazed window.

Courtesy of EADT24