Vandalized and Robbed!!

Janalee · 03-21-2008, 09:46 PM

Well all, .... It was a great winter trip to Florida until St. Patrick's Day, our first day on the road coming back to Pa.- stopped in Golden Corral on Normandy Blvd. in Jacksonville, Fl. for a belated birthday supper and what a surprise!! Came out to the broken windows in the van AND the Sunny! They had ransacked our van, tried to unhitch it seemed, and then broke the small window behind the swivel chair in the camper to reach in and unlock the door!!! However, they cut their hand or arm very badly on the broken window and left taking only a couple of small items (camera phone, and camera, and car keys and a TV remote) but left a LOT of fresh blood all over the carpet and mauve chair, floor,walls etc....even a bedspread and towel---had to get a pro in to handle and shampoo up that mess! He fortunately was able to remove all the blood...Our poor kitty was traumatized,ran into a swamp but came when I called her...thank God for that! AND OF COURSE< NOBODY SAW A THING!! Daylight hours too..It was a frightening thing and will take me a long time to recover---haven't slept since Monday night! Of course, it doesn't help when you are traveling and have plastic bags for windows!
The dummies overlooked my purse, three tv's (one is a brandnew LCD),laptop, and medicines and cash--hope it was because of the bleeding...sorry..I am not a forgiving type right now...Just wanted to warn you all to be careful! Our camper was in plain view the whole time we ate--unfortunately,the wrong side of the camper was what I was looking at. We are installing some kind of better window protection there and guess I have to teach our cat to bark! Lessons learned here...CLOSE THE WINDOW SHADES AND LEAVE A RADIO ON...go in to eat in shifts! Jan

**Tweety** · 03-22-2008, 06:57 AM

Oh Jan I am so sorry

and so glad no one was hurt. Thanks for the warning and good tip about shutting blinds and leaving a radio on. We usually don't even lock the camper when we go hiking or biking.

Makers Mark · 03-22-2008, 09:27 AM

Jan,
That is terrible; you must of felt violated by that intrusion. I am so sorry for you. Blessing is you recovered your kitty and did not walk in on the jerks in progress.
Regards,
Jay

irishguy101 · 03-22-2008, 09:35 AM

I am sorry to read what happened to you, its just to bad it is getting more and more common for this to happen, first it was homes now its TT, MH.
You work for it and someone else steals it,I hope this so called person got cut so bad that they did permanent damage to them selves so they have something to remember what and how they got it.
Sorry if the Hard A** part of me is showing.

HappyCampers · 03-22-2008, 09:50 AM

It's just a shame when someone that is too lazy to work for their own stuff has to ruin and ransack someone elses stuff for their own gain. Sorry to hear of your loss.

Indy-Jim · 03-22-2008, 10:42 AM

This is a fair warning to us campers as we travel and camp in campgrounds. We must be very cognizant on what is going on around us as we park in parking lots for various reasons as well as while at campgrounds. I don't think that camping in private campgrounds is as threatening, however, when camping in SP's or other less secure areas, it would be wise to not leave any unsecured equipment around (campstoves, chairs, bikes, etc.) as these have been known to disappear while out hiking or doing other activities away from your unit, particularly if your TV is not there indicating that no one is present.

Note: In this case, it might be that the owners Homeowners or automibile insurance may pay for the loss of equipment and repair if it is identified on the policy(?).

Jim

Janalee · 03-22-2008, 12:18 PM

Yes, the insurance is stepping in to pay some losses, but in this case there are THREE deductibles to be met--one for the van, one for the trailer damage and one for the stolen items (those are covered by homeowners insurance!) so we must still pay $500.00 out of pocket plus the inconvenience and work to clean it all back up..we are still finding bits of glass and blood (YUK) and some other small items gone..And they can't replace the memories of our trip stored on the camera....Jan
PS...Thank you all of you for your concern and thoughts....

nickster60 · 03-22-2008, 02:07 PM

Unfortunately there are some very rough areas in Florida. They arent all palm trees and sandy beaches. The worst are as follows

Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, South St Petersburg and many parts around Orlando.

The snow birds are an easy mark and they know it. Most are older and from out of state. Yes they are scumbags and they just dont care. Glad you are both safe.

luckydc · 03-23-2008, 07:22 AM

I always lock my camper when I am away. Better to be safe then sorry. Also, I never leave anything on my campsite that I am not prepared to replace. It only takes one freak...and you never know where he or she is...

Glad no one but the bad guys where hurt! Things can be replaced! Thank goodness your cat was retrived! That would have been an irreplaceable loss....

Mooney · 03-23-2008, 06:22 PM

Perhaps you could ask the local PD to check area hospital check-ins, if there was that bad of a cut, most BGs (Bad Guys) are too dumb to not seek medical attention. They get a lot of BGs around here from gang shootings b/c they get hurt and go for help- the local media does a really good jub keeping most of them out of the spotlight though. You don't get a lot of federal funds to revitalize your community (i.e. Brockton, MA) if you are having issues.

I am saddened by your loss, but at least you and yours are all safe and together.

Check to make sure your vehicle registrations and anything with your address on it was not touched, as they have keys to your stuff. IF IN DOUBT, get all your locks changed. Better safe than otherwise.

Perhaps there is a video camera somewhere that may have caught something on tape, local PD should have looked for this already though. I hope they are dumb enough to get caught turning your phone on or getting help.

emam · 03-27-2008, 04:13 PM

Glad to hear you're safe. Material things can be replaced and that's what insurance is for!

I would be pretty devistated if we were broken into, and that's a great notice to keep the blinds pulled closed. We also put a beware of Dog sign on the door, because we normally leave the dogs in the camper while we go into somewhere. I dont know if it helps, but they say it can detire the scum that does this sort of thing