OMIGOD! They took my sign with the Airtag and it ended up exactly where I thought it

[Baitball Blogger]

Last edited Wed Oct 30, 2024, 07:43 PM - Edit history (3)

would end up! In the well-to-do community next door!

What is the procedure for recovery? Do I call the police?

Update it: They disabled the device, but I took a screen shot before they did. I have a picture of the house.

Update: I filed the police report. Police Officer was very nice. I also did a search for the house, and I was surprised because the kids would be too young to do this, unless the owners are renting out the house.

3rd Update: So I went ahead and activated a second airtag, and when I did, the app also picked up the one that was stolen!!! It is showing live that it's still at that house. I sent the info to the officer.

4th update. They moved the sign to a second house in the same development. I advised the police officer. I think they are unaware of the AirTag because they didn’t just steal my sign, but another Harris sign. Unfortunately they will probably move it again tonight, and if I’m right, they are behind a rash of stolen signs.

5th and last update for the night: This is supposition, but I think they found the Airtag and ripped it off the sign. Then tried to throw it across an open area behind their home. I am having a difficult time geo-locating it in the dark. Perhaps we'll get a better signal tomorrow.

[CousinIT]

1. Call them and ask them to go over there and retrieve the sign.

My guess is their shit will stop after that.

[rzemanfl]

6. This is Florida, not civilization.

[johnnyfins]

26. !

[RockRaven]

2. Sure call the cops. Don't expect too much.

But do it anyway.

[dchill]

3. I would call the police. There's no other reasonable alternative.

Unless you just let it go. But hey, that's YOUR Airtag!

[Grins]

52. Yes. It is a crime. Election interference.

So…
#1. Call police.
#2. Call your district attorney’s office!
#3. Call your county board of elections.

[FrankBooth]

4. File a police report

It's not legal for them to steal your signs, and you have evidence you can show the police about who took them.

[mitch96]

10. At least you will have a case number for them to reference that you are proceeding. give the sign back or else...nt

[RAB910]

5. Call the police

[RobinA]

7. I'd At Least

go knock on the door and get my Airtag back.

[cannabis_flower]

38. Same here but...

I would call the police and have them meet me there.

[Deminpenn]

8. There are actually laws against sign stealing in some places

If your municipality has an ordinance against it, you'll be able to report it to the police. Your local municipal office should be able to tell you if stealing campaign signs is illegal.

[usonian]

9. And stealing airtags is illegal.

They aren't exactly free, and besides, they are clearly "marked" as your property.

In the future, I recommend going to the hardware store/nursery and getting some tree wound paint (it's tar)
and smearing it on black portions of your sign and frame.

Unless the well-to-do wear gloves (making them extreme snobs or professional thieves) they will spent a lot of time with Boraxo getting the tar out of their hands.

It's safe and legal. If the cops ask, you were pruning when you put up the sign.

Happens to me. I prune a lot.

[CanonRay]

11. Sue them

That might get rich people's attention.

[usonian]

12. They could destroy the evidence if served.

Better that the gendarmes show up unexpected.
Just my two cents' worth.

Say that they stole "computer gear with identification on it" and tracking data.

[ancianita]

43. For trespassing on private property, and then file in small claims court for property stolen.

You wouldn't need a lawyer when you have possession of the evidence, so a judge can immediately rule for plaintiff relief, and it's a matter of public record.

[durablend]

30. And glitter

Need to use lots of glitter

[SWBTATTReg]

13. Yes, there was an article previously on someone else who had put an airtag on their sign, and they caught the person(s)

who stole them, they had over 40-60 signs. Each of them or several of them was worth a felony, and the kids were saying, no, it isn't, still thinking it was a joke still. They will find out soon enough that it isn't a joke.

[niyad]

47. And the mother of one of them was a real piece of work, acting like the

people whose property her son had stolen were the problem. apple did not fall far from that tree!

[Gore1FL]

14. I found my missing Crystal Quade sign this am. I didn't get a chance to pick it up.

It was nothing nefarious. Her sign is a plastic bag that covers a frame. The wind blew it up the street.

If it is still there when I get home, I'll retrieve it.

[essaynnc]

15. Just a quick story...

My ex-wife was busted for stealing Trump signs out of her well to do neighborhood due to an air tag. The cops came to the house, demanded she open her trunk, and there they were! While she didn't go to jail, she got a stern talking to.

Dang it, it wouldn't have hurt my feelings if they'd have arrested her! (No love lost there !)

[Hope22]

16. Definitely contact the police.

I saw a YouTube where the AirTag owner went to the house that had the tagged sign and it could have gone all kinds of wrong ways. You need your tag and sign back. Stay safe. Glad you got the info! Very fine!

[FeelingBlue]

17. CALL THE COPS!! NT

[progressoid]

18. Call the cops AND the media.

[ShazzieB]

19. Another vote for calling the cops!

You have the goods (i.e. evidence) on these weasels--use it!

[rogue emissary]

20. Agree with other saying contact police.

Also, please be safe and contact your local Newspaper or tv stations.

You did 90% of the work. So it's an easy story for them to report on.

[Island Blue]

21. It's a misdemeanor in NC.

I’m not sure about FL, but I would check with your local Police Department and report the theft if it is.

[StarryNite]

22. Please keep us posted.

[Whiskeytide]

23. I might put up a large sign, readable from the ...

… street, that says:

OUR AIRTAGGED HARRIS/WALZ SIGN WAS STOLEN BY A MENTAL TODDLER AND TAKEN TO [address] - A HOME OWNED BY [names].

All true, and you can prove it.

[Figarosmom]

24. They were also trespassing

With criminal intent.

[LisaM]

25. I went for a long walk the other day. At about the 2 mile point

I noticed a Harris Walz sign and a Bob Ferguson (running for governor of Washington) sign lying on the side of the road with no stakes or metal stand.

Later on, at the end of the walk, I noticed our neighbor's Harris Walz sign was missing and on a closer look, the metal part was still there - someone had just pulled off the sign. Later, I saw another metal frame missing a sign and since there were other Dem signs up but no Bob Ferguson one in that row, I am pretty sure that someone took those two signs and dropped them off a couple of miles away. (Unfortunately, I can't go back on foot and retrieve them, or I would).

Really, it's annoying. I don't steal GOP signs.

[Baitball Blogger]

28. I think we're only now scratching the surface of the problem.

And the people who are doing the stealing are probably people who think they're upstanding members of society.

[intheflow]

27. Good luck.

When my phone was stolen and GPS showed it at a house a few doors down with known criminals (the cops are always going over there), and the cops were all like, "GPS doesn't work like movies. It's probably not there. And even if it is, they'll just deny having it if we ask them." And people wonder why we scream ACAB!!!!

[liberalla]

29. Nevermind! When I refreshed the screen I saw your updates!

[liberalla]

34. I can't wait to see what happens, now that you've confirmed the first airtag is still at the house!

I hope with this information, the police go there right away. Good luck!

[Warpy]

31. Confronting a frothing wingnut is never a great idea.

I still say the capsaicin treatment on political signs is the best bet, providing a painful object lesson in why stealing them is a bad idea.

I doubt the cops will do much, it's petty theft and he can always say he has no idea how all those Harris signs got into his trash can, somebody else must've put them in there.

[BattleRow]

32. You might want to consider putting up posted no trespassing signs,also.

Then you got MORE charges to press.

[orleans]

33. did they put your sign in their yard or in their garbage? are they trumpers or did they just want a harris sign? nt

[Baltimike]

35. Take your fucking sign back.

Take it back, take it back, take it back.

[soandso]

36. Post the story and photo of their house on social media

Embarrass them. It's so damn petty to steal people's signs or mess with bumper stickers.

[mainer]

37. YES

Let the world know what their house looks like.

[Dock_Yard]

39. Do NOT do this. Do NOT go that low. It's doxxing. Get the police involved.

[soandso]

41. It's not doxxing

It's showing a photo of where the OP's air tag ended up. Doxxing is tracking an anon poster, online, and posting their personal information and, sometimes harassing them in person, as CNN did to a teenager who posted a meme.

Thieves need to be exposed.

[ancianita]

45. It's doxxing. Doxxing is exposing. Doxxing is not "tracking." Tracking is stalking.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

48. Thanks & good thing words still have real meanings; not whatever some writer means in their head. . . . . nt

[ancianita]

51. Yep. It's what US English teachers do.

[Yellowdog88]

53. I guess

..They didn't properly understand consequences for theft. I would expect no less from the opposition.
Post the photo of the house. You don't want to be "doxxed", don't steal.

[Traildogbob]

40. Is there

A “Stand Your Sign” law in FloriDUH?

[Fritz Walter]

42. From a now purple district in red(dish) FL

One of my neighbors has a unique approach to safeguarding their lawn signs: Attach a (waterproof) hand-written note to the back of the sign, saying that if the sign is removed or damaged, the resident would make a large donation to Planned Parenthood. So far, the sign has been untouched.

There's another neighbor who's posted a sign in front of the house: "COUNTRY OVER PARTY Republicans for Harris+Walz." During the early morning walk when I discovered this, I stopped to take a photo with my phone. The owner came out, and we had a nice chat: his wife is the Republican of the house. I told him I liked the "DMP" sign (vote for Debbie Murcarsel-Powell, running against pRick -- "I pled the 5th 75 times" -- Snott for Senate).

I take these as good signs...

[WiVoter]

44. Put a picture of that house up on social media

[uncle ray]

46. notify your local Harris campaign office.

i would not be scared to go over there with a friend and phone camera rolling and politely demand your property back.

find the name of who lives there and donate to the Harris campaign in their name, so they get Democratic campaign materials in their mail for the rest of their existence. same for planned parenthood.

[efhmc]

49. "An Apple AirTag is a small Bluetooth tracker that helps you keep track of your belongings:"

Learn something new every day on DU.

[Festivito]

50. Save the found tag for fingerprints. Stealing the tag is illegal.

[Martin68]

54. Scumbags

[Intractable]

55. I don't understand why people steal the signs and then keep them!

Is the objective to accumulate the opposition's signs or simply to remove them from view?

Do the smart thing -- ditch them in the woods!

Or better, do as my HOA has done and ban the signs. We are not allowed to hang signs of any form, especially political signs. We are a mixed neighborhood of Republicans and Democrats. For the most part, we get along.

At the local voting site, the driveway to the building is lined with ground-level signs. They are packed so tightly together, most are unreadable and also highly redundant. Harris, Trump, Harris, Trump, local names, vote Yes on 3, more signs, signs in front of signs. It's comical.

It's either a sign (pun intended) that civil war is about to begin, or that we can actually get along in tight spaces.

[Baitball Blogger]

57. It actually does make a sound, but it's currently unreachable.

Either there aren't enough bluetooth devices around it to pick up a signal, or they've figured out how to disengage it.

Bottom line, I walked to the area where it last left a signal and tried to get it to make a sound, but it kept saying it wasn't connected.