Break-ins or Theft at Boat Launches or Parking Lots
It has been getting
to the point that you somewhat hesitate to park your vehicle in a boat launch
parking lot or even in a restaurant lot if you can not watch it all the time.
Listed below are some accounts & suggestions off some of the fishing message boards that may give some insight & possibly may help prevent a vandalization or theft to your vehicle, boat or trailer.
It is suggested that you consider having a extra set of spare keys made if you are one who uses a drift boat shuttle service. Most of the newer vehicles that use the electronic push button keys only really need this key to start the vehicle. A standard spare key can be made off this electronic key that then can be used to open the door with. Once you are inside, retrieve the electronic key to start the vehicle.
Have the shuttle service lock your keys inside in a place that is not seen from
outside & you use your other spare to get in when you take out.
Otherwise they are making it very easy to break-in/steal by anyone just watching
the shuttle guys place keys on the top of the tire and then proceed in stealing
the truck and trailer. It really sucks to have the truck and the
trailer stolen then there no way to get the boat home after a long cold day on
the water.
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A Toyota pick-up was stolen from
the parking lot at Fuller bridge on the Chehalis river today (11-04-07). The
thief unhooked the trailer and took the truck. It wasn't mine, but belonged to a
friend of a friend. It was a 1986 black extended cab truck. If anyone was there
and saw just a trailer in the lot, the info could be important to establish a
time. It appears it is not just catalytic converters anymore.
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For those interested, an update on the truck that was stolen.
They launched at 7:45. Someone has said they saw just the trailer in the lot at
9:00AM.
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My 97 Toyota was parked right next to the guy whose
truck was jacked at Fuller on Sunday. I distinctly remember looking over when I
pulled out at about 1:00PM thinking "that's kind of weird for a trailer to be by
itself that".
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That's the joy of them old Toyota's. If you have a key for one,
it will work in about half of them.
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Hope your friend gets his back. If he does, tell him to buy an aftermarket
ignition switch for it. The OEM ones were junk and would let many a key fit it's
tumblers...
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The early Toyota were easy to steal and the doors could be opened with a Slim
Jim in seconds or a NINJA rock.
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I'm under the impression that it might have been for the
accessories. Such as tires and wheels, stereos, speakers, amps, etc. If it were
me I would look at who knew about the truck and who knew I'd be fishing at
Fuller that day. I doubt that it was for the truck and I doubt that it was random. IMO
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Older Toyotas (especially 85 or older 4x4s) are a hot
tweaker target. It may not be worth $1000 to a reasonable person but they
are a parts gold mine to off-road nuts that will usually pay cash.
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That old Toyota key issue saved our bacon on a northern
B.C. river. We parked and Left the keys on the rear tire. When we got back the
keys were gone. After breaking out a window and discovering that none of us knew
how to hot Wire a car, I tried the key from my Toyota truck. Presto , we were on
our way.
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The truck was found on a logging road up behind the twin
cooling towers at Satsop. Missing were the tires and wheels, the bucket seats,
and all the stereo related equipment.
Thanks for reporting the time. That makes me more sure that it was someone who
knew the truck and knew what was in it and knew it was going to be in that lot.
It is too much of a coincidence for it to be a random act. It is someone the
truck owner knows.
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The crooks already know there were only four different keys made during that era
of Toyotas. Besides, crooks don't read this site. Just good guys. If I owned
one, I would change the ignition, switch, but that doesn't solve the door
problem.
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If they want it, they are going to take it no matter
what. I say just have it insured for possible loss. I know it sucks to have to
worry about your shiat, but that is life these day's.
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A truck with no coil wire would be hard to steal. After
my '86 was stolen I started unplugging the coil wire when I parked it.
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Removing the coil wire is a good idea if they aren't as
smart as a bus driver I once knew. I took my class on a botany field trip. We
were way back in the hills. Someone took the coil wire from the school bus
engine. The crafty old driver just removed a plug wire, put it where the coil
wire was supposed to be and away we went, hitting on one less cylinder.
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If you give a GOOD description of the stolen/stripped
property from your truck there is a chance the Drug Task Force will find it at
some dealers house or at a local wrecking yards. You could do some of the leg
work your self by calling local yards and asking if they have any (what ever is
missing) in stock. Tell them you are looking to buy. Don't tell them your a
victim.
In my prior life I worked within the legal structure for many years. I have
dealt with theses idiots in a u/c capacity. We always came across property taken
from Joe citizen. One time we found a freezer full of lobster. Idiots had been
lifting them from the local grocery store and trading for dope.
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I had my truck vandalized at Fuller bridge a few years ago. When they were done,
they stuck
toothpicks in the door locks
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I've had to deal with the insurance issue also. The lock was
jammed, yet they depreciate the value by X so the stockholders still get their
take. Others have said the adjuster gets a percentage of what they save
the company.
At least I liked to be kissed after getting screwed over like this...
In reality I received only about half of value of lost items.
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Live by the Motto = TRUST NO ONE, lock your gear up and
give no one the opportunity to gain on your hard work.
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I've had two break-ins over the last summer. Both times
I had nothing in the rig. Cops thought both times they were looking for identity
info.
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Yeah, remove even your registration from your vehicle. Sad but true.
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This is why I drive an old beat up rust bucket out
fishing.. tweekers don't even look twice at my rig and I never leave anything in
it either.
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I seconded on the beater. I see all kinds of $40K
trucks at launches and they just seem to scream out "rip me off" at launches to
the tweakers. My car looks like something a tweaker would drive, so maybe that's
the key.
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I was at the guide shop
around 6 am in January getting my shuttle taken care of and within a matter of 3
minutes, somebody stole my net, 25 Quickfish, my wife's Starbucks coffee
canister and our lunch bag.
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I am thinking I might invest in a cheap Trail-Cam to place near my rig when I am
out hunting this year. It might get stolen too but maybe not! The
chain may prove to be just too much for them.
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Now that's an idea I like... hidden video cam... I know that cams we use at work
only record when something moves... so it saves space... I was just reading an
article in Fishing and Hunting magazine, about hunting cams and how the can
record for you to see elk and deer habits
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Mount trail, cam near your rig. With the Flash OFF, you will have a nice chip
full of photo's of the Burgler. But suggest that the Trail-Cam is locked
up & Camo to boot.
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Don't leave your registration in the glove box and your remote door opener on the visor
either. You may come home to another break in.
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The above comment is a good point. I remember going out to dinner when I
was a kid and coming out to find a broken window on my dad's old truck. The only
thing they took was the registration. When we got home, there was someone
in our house. I have since tried to make it a habit to take my
registration and all other identification out of my car and carry it with me
while fishing.
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All the law enforcement in the Portland area said last year don't leave your
registration in your vehicle. Besides these laws are antiquated due
to the computer and radio abilities of today. they can have your registration
pulled up immediately.
OH, BTW, a ticket for no registration is cheaper than having identity stolen.
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Law says the Registration has to be in the Car. So they say!!.
Cost of ticket? Vs ID theft to clear name & hassle, due to stolen
Registration?. Which one is cheaper?
Since, my wallet contains Ins & Driver Lic. I keep mine in wallet.
The VIN ID tag, is also covered up.
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The law says the registration has to be in the Car.
Then I suppose I'm in violation because mine will either be in my boat with me
or on my person. I leave nothing of value in my vehicle. Absolutely nothing.
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Yes, and the Gresham OR. PD also says don't leave change in your ash try, it
attracts burglers.... yes todays technology, when you get pulled over the asking
for your registration is formality... they know whos rig that is before you even
get to the side of the road after the red and blues are flashing
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There was nothing
of value in plain site when the my & another car was broken into, except the in
dash CD player, which was nothing fancy. After they broke in, the
rigs were ransacked. They took shoes, pants, and a lunch among other items
including a car registration and insurance papers.
I'm always diligent when I'm in the woods but I'll be even more so now.
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Never hurts to write down a plate number if they don't fit in.
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I had some friends that moved here from Florida. The loved to backpack.
Their car got broke into a few times. Jerks just busted the windows out of
his VW Bug and took anything they could find. ( which was not much really )
So he went out a bought another VW bug that was all beat up. No Radio, no
nothing inside. When he and his wife got to the trail head they just left
the windows open. He never had a problem after that.
Some times you have to be creative.. Please report
anything. The police operate on tips.
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I saw a message board thread some time ago that mentioned taking pictures at the
boat ramps before launching and making sure everyone sees you doing so.
Ever since I read that,... I make sure I do it all the time now. I
have had hoodlems on bicycles and hoodlums hanging in their cars in the parking
lots and I just point the camera right at them and snap a few shots, I even make
sure I get their license plate in the picture.
Just another idea for everyone to think about!
There is no way I'm going
to let thieves stop me from doing what I love the most. In the future if my rig
gets broken into there will only be the miscl tools I always carry with me and
NOTHING else of value.
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If you are bouncing around from spot to spot banking it, please pay attention to
everything you see throughout the day. one day last fall I kept seeing this
questionable vehicle up and down the highway. Well sure enough as I came
up from a spot I saw 2 inbreds scurry from my truck and away they went before we
could put a serious stompin' on them. The lesson I learned that day
was......I should have first called in the vehicle after I saw it a couple
times.
I only wonder how many break ins happened that day because of them and how many
I could have prevented.
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But sometimes they break in for nothing of value. Or what you would
consider valueless. A simple piece of paper with your name and address is
sometime enough. Thank goodness, these are usually smash and grab.
They don't steal stereos and radar detectors much anymore. They usually
want ID. Unless they are homeless or an escapee, they don't want food and
clothes.
I parked by the highway in a small pullout along a river on a weekday afternoon. Someone cruised the lot,
and hit me on the way out.
Now I get a little nervous fishing for to long, and fear I will see this scene
every time I come back to the car. Its time we did something, which is
work together as a community, take precautions, give warnings of recent hot
spots for break-ins, and help each other after were are victims, and try to get
some things recovered.
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I empty my truck's glove box and center console of EVERYTHING. I leave
them open. I push one seat all the way forwards so "they" can see in the
back and the other I push all the way into the back so "they" can see in the
front. I leave my doors unlocked.
My thought I would rather someone enter my truck and rummage around to find
nothing to take than return to the launch and find a busted window.
I know a few guys who leave a note on the dash saying "The doors are unlocked &
there is nothing of value inside".
Works for me thus far. I have seen other cars broken into when I take the boat
out and "they" leave mine alone.
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I usually leave them a note taped to the inside of the drivers window. I found
that being a little subtle usually works.
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That's a good one, mine just says, "Can you feel the crosshairs on your head?"
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I do almost the exact same thing. All glove compartments and center
consoles are open and NOTHING is left in the truck. No note. I want
them to know that they are wasting their time.
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The criminal minded ( pathological types ) I have known a few of these idiots.
These type of people that steal don't see it the way you do. They justify
their actions with the idea that somehow they have been deprived. It's OK
for them to do it because some how they have been left out.
Thieves believe you deserve to be ripped off because you were dumb enough to
leave your valuables in a car. They think that they are clever and
smart and cannot get caught.
Our present system doesn't work to prevent these crimes because our society is
willing to tolerate it.
I drove past that spot on the Clackamas River that the county barricaded
recently. I see more and more traditional fishing holes and hunting places
disappearing because unsavory types are ruining it for us.
These people are ruining the quality of life here in our states and what is anybody
doing about it...?? NOTHING !
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My husband and I disagree on locking the car doors. I leave them unlocked,
theory being if "they" want in, they'll get in, and I'd just as soon they not
break a window to do so. He says that thefts are crimes of opportunity, and
thieves are generally lazy. Make it harder for them and they'll most
likely move on to an easier target.
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There really is nothing you can do to prevent this from happening ,,,,, unless
you leave your 90 lb dog in the car .
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I get frustrated when I read these post, because there are so many of them.
There's a thing called quality of life, every time one one these thief's steels
from someone they steel away a little bit of that quality of life from all of
us. How many of you wont fish an area anymore because of break-ins or park
at a trail head or fear that when you get back to your camp that you will have
been ripped off or pass up a restaurant because you can't park where you can
keep an eye on your belongings. These types of break-ins are out of
control. The whole judicial system, from LE to the courts to the politicians has
failed us all. This attitude that it's only property crime has to end. The
thief's steal more than just property and the punishment needs to be so severe
that it serves as a deterrent.
OK I'm off my soap box now.
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On your boat motors it is a good idea to
1) Make sure you get a bill of sale with vin
numbers, dates, drivers license numbers, addresses etc if you can.
2) Does he have the owners manual? Other bill of sale?
3) If its portable, does he have the tank? They usually wont steal the tank.
4) tell him you want to run the numbers with the police before you buy it to
make sure its not stolen. If the guy is bad they wont write back.
Originated 11-09-07, Last Updated 11-22-2007
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