RE: [Leica] Leicas stolen - LUG strikes back!

["Phong" <phong@doan-ltd.com>]

Good for you Jim.

Reminds me of the R8 that Ted Grant lost in Asia a few years back,
(during the Pan Asia  Games in Singapore, if I remember correctly), 
and recovered with the help of local LUGer(s) after many months.
Perhaps Ted will give you the details; it's quite an amazing story.

I did lose an Nikon F4 and 3 lenses about 10 years ago.  Used the
opportunity to switch to Leica.  :-)

Again, congratulations on your recovery.  You should buy a new lens
to celebrate :-)

- - Phong


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Jim Laurel
> Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 10:09 PM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] Leicas stolen - LUG strikes back!
> 
> 
> 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
> 
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