Robbed!

[Shay]

Yesterday while I was at work our house was robbed

A small child was sent through the window after the burgler bars were bent.

The only things they could fit out the window was a video camera and... all my jewelry

Things stolen include a 3 carat antique ruby ring from my grandmother.
An aquamarine ring from my mother that I wore on the night I realised I was in love with my bf.
Rings that I have collected from all over Europe, they aren''t worth anything to anyone else, just sentimental for me.
Earrings from my dad for my last 5 birthdays.
A gucci watch I got for my sweet 16th.
And lots of other valuable pieces that didn''t mean as much to me in terms of emotional attachment.

Thank the Universe that I was wearing my anniversary and christmas rings from my bf at the time, I would be shattered if I lost those.

And my heart breaks for these children. If this is the kind of life they are living at such a young age, what kind of future can they have?

My bf kept saying he was so sorry, like it was his fault. Which only made me feel worse.

To end on a funny note, since this is so depressing. To cheer me up my bf said " on a positive note, now when I buy you your engagement ring, it will be the most valuable piece of jewelry you own" hehehe, silly rabbit.

 

[fatafelice]

Oh, Shay! That''s horrible! Is there any chance of any of it being recovered? I hope that they at least catch the kids that did it, but I agree their future looks pretty bleak already. If nothing else, are there pawn stores in your area that you can check? Here''s a ((((HUG))))! I hope your day today brightens up.

 

[MelissaSue]

thats is terrible. I can''t imagine having that happen to me. I am soo sentimentally attached to so many things I own. I feel awful for you. Do you at least have insurance so you can get a little of the monetary value of your items recovered?

 

[Shay]

Thanks guys.

In an unfortunate twist I do not have insurance. All our insurance is on the new house that we bought instead of in the rental place, we move to the new house in a week. Murpheys law

.

It is really sad but there have been positives come out of it.
My bf''s mother came right over when she heard and was so kind and supportive to me. It really makes me happy to know that one day she will be my awesome MIL.

Also neither my bf nor I were hurt in any way and really it''s just things that are missing, nothing is truly irreplaceable except each other.

I was hurt and saddened by the loss, but I didn''t want to further upset my bf by talking about it. And I figured who would better understand the attachment to jewellery than the Pricecopers.

 

[sevens one]

Well Shay you sure have a positive outlook on this unfortunate situation.
I''m so sorry this happened.

 

[AGBF]

Hi, Shay-

I was burgled once and it was very upsetting. I had nothing of enormous monetary value at that time, but I lost the coral earrings my husband had bought me the night we became engaged and a ring I had had since birth with my birthstone in it. There were many other similar items...like my college ring. I felt that sense of "invasion" about which people speak when someone breaks into their homes. Now I don't keep jewelry or silver in my house at all. It dampens spontaneity when I want to wear something or use the silver, but I decided I didn't want to go through that again.

In the end they are just things, though. My family is what I want to keep safe!

Deb

 

[MissAva]

Bless your heart that jst plain sucks.

I cant imagine how sad you must be to lose thing that have been part of your family and your own life story. Are the police investagating? ( I know they often dont for robberies)

I am glad however to hear that your BF is such a light hearted and upbeat guy, lucky girl!

I am also glad ot hear that you wont be among the my MIL is nuts posters. *hug*

 

[AChiOAlumna]

I''m so sorry to hear about this!! while not trying to minimize the feelings of being invaded, at least you weren''t home when it happened and everyone is safe!!! Hopefully you''ll be able to recover some of your stuff and be able to move forward from this....

 

[hellokitty]

Shay, im so sorry this happened to you

::hug:: Its a good thing no one was hurt, but having something like this happen really really stinks-- I hope that somehow the police find these people and they pay for what they did! ::gggrrrrr:::

 

[FireGoddess]

How absolutely horrible. Thank God nobody was hurt....but still a devastating experience. I''m so glad you''re moving out of that place next week! I hope karma comes back around to bite them in the @ss...definitely keep an eye on the pawnshops near you...it''d be the most obvious place for them to get some cash out of it...

 

[fountainfairfax]

How terrible!!!! I''m sorry you had to go through that kind of violation & loss

Firegodess had a wonderful point- try to drop off flyers at as many pawn shops as possible, listing descriptions of what was stolen..offer a small reward for cooperation and you may be suprised.

I''ve been the victim of auto theft and remember how upsetting that small loss was, to have things of such amazing personal value stolen from you is beyond comprehension! Hang in there, try to think of wonderful things like your new house & future engagement and all the wonderful memories to come.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Oh, I''m so sorry to hear this! You sound quite positive, though. It''s a horrible feeling though- when I lived in England, our house was burgled at night while we were asleep. It was a really creepy feeling knowing they were in the house with us. Thank God no one was hurt, and I''m grateful that you were not either.

 

[Kaleigh]

Shay,
I am so sorry, that''s just awful!!! You have a wonderful positive outlook and hopefully you will feel better soon. I can''t beleive they make a small child do that!!!

 

[fire&ice]

My heart goes out to you. When our house was burgularized, I felt so violated. Something to keep in the back of your mind - I felt very much the way you did initially - thankful for what wasn''t taken - thankful for nobody getting hurt. I was very thankful - but a few days later I became really upset/depressed at the violation. If this happens to you, it''s pretty normal and that to will pass. Hubby was at a total loss that he couldn''t "fix it" for me.

Have you called your insurance carrier? It''s worth a shot - if things get stolen out of your car, your covered. If things get stolen from you hotel room, your covered. Also, I assume you filed a police report. They usually notify the pawn shops - but it''s a good idea to contact them anyway. Some other ideas - call your local "estate jeweler". And, start checking for matches on ebay. I had a friend recover quite a bit of stolen items from a listing on ebay.

Again, I''m so sorry.

 

[njc]

So sorry Shay!!!

I want to second F&Is advice above. Having just scoured the earth for the cheapest home insurance, all i talked to had on and off property coverage. Just like F&I said, something from your car, covered. Your hotel room, covered. I know money wont replace the sentimental value though.

I think looking on eBay is a great idea too. Would you have to bid on the item though? Or could you contact eBay and say this is mine, it was stolen?

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 4/13/2005 12:39

4 PM
Author: njc
So sorry Shay!!!


I think looking on eBay is a great idea too. Would you have to bid on the item though? Or could you contact eBay and say this is mine, it was stolen?

I was told to contact the policeman who handled the investigation (the investigator''s recommendation). If I was at a show or market, I was told to go to security and alert them.

In the case of my friend, she did have someone bid on the item. She also alerted ebay.

 

[ky6]

Shay- oh my, my heart just sank for you reading about the burglary and what was taken. I know I cannot offer any great words of comfort (1. all of the other PSers have pretty much said it all! and 2. you sound to already have a really healthy and positive attitude toward this unfortunate event). But I still wanted you to know that I am sorry you have had to go through such a violation and loss of sentimental items. Good luck trying to recover some of the items through the suggestions you have rec''d.

 

[Buena Girl]

Shay-
I am so sorry this happened!!! If I get a chance later this week, I will do some random Ebay searches to see if I see anything that sounds like one of your items. You never know, maybe if you have some people try some random searches with weird spellings or unusual descriptions, someone may be able to find something. There is just so much jewelry listed on Ebay!

I know this won''t get your jewelry back, but I have one idea for you: There is a ring that my sister inherited from my grandmother that I adore. I am planning on having a similar one made for me sometime in the next few years. While it won''t have the exact same sentimental attachment, I will still think of my grandmother when I get to wear it. Maybe you could do something similar with the jewelry that was stolen. It you have pictures of any of the most special pieces, maybe you could have someone make some similar pieces for you. Like tribute pieces of jewelry.

 

[psuheather]

Shay...I am so sorry that you had to go through such a traumatizing event. Jewelry can be replaced, but sentimental value never can

And using a child to carry out a criminal act....we''re talking about real low lifes here.....

I wanted to share a story with a happy ending so that you can see that these situations can turn out ok sometimes. A friend of my mom''s just recently had her engagement ring stolen, along with some other jewelry that she left in the glove compartment in her car (big mistake!) She was going to get her nails done and took everything off and put it in the compartment and then forgot about it

! She then proceeded to take her car in for service, get it washed, have it valet parked, etc. over the next two weeks until one day it popped into her head that she had all of her jewelry in the car. Surprise, surprise, when she opened the compartment to get it out, it was all gone. She reported it to the police, but knew that she''s never see it again, so she alerted the insurance company and started the process of looking for a new ring (which can never replace your original engagement ring, as we all know.) Well, a few weeks later, she got a call from the police that they found all of her jewelry! It turns out (and I don''t know if this is only in the state of Maryland) but every item that is sold to a pawn shop must be held in the back for thirty days before it can be resold. The police are then able to check all of the pawn shops to see if your stolen items are there. Her stuff was sold to a few different pawn shops, but they got everything back, and even caught the guy who stole her stuff (he was a worker at the car wash.) I hope that your situation turns out as well as hers!

 

[blueroses]

You POOR BABY!!!!!! I am so sorry you have to deal with this horrible violation. So glad your bf and future MIL are being so supportive

My family had a very similar robbery in 93 and I know how awful you must feel right now!! (The cops also said ours must have been quite a young teenager b/c of the window they came through, they stole around 10 or 11 rings from my my mom including her original e-ring from my dad, my baby signet ring, etc.etc.)

I think that 30-day pawn shop rule is the case in a LOT of states, so there''s definitely some "due dilligence" or whatever you call it in terms of contacting and following up with pawn shop owners, if you decide to do that

I am SO SORRY!!!!! Big (((HUGS)))

 

[Blue824]

I am so sorry, I can''t imagine how upset you are, but you sound as though you''re handling this as positively as possible. Keep tabs on the pawn shops if you can, that''s probably where they''ll end up unfortunately. I am glad your future MIL and BF have been supportive. I wish you lots of luck in moving on from this and hopefully recovering some of your lost pieces.

 

[Shay]

Thank you all for the kind wishes and good advice. Well we will definately be looking at pawn shops this weekend.

Unfortunately my bf seems to be taking this while thing personally, even though it wasn''t his fault in any way he blames himself. If anything it''s my fault for not making use of the perfectly good safe! My mom thinks it''s a male protective thing and he''s upset because he didn''t protect things that are important to me.

We had a long talk last night and I made sure he knew that he was not in any way responsible, and it was just one of those bad things that happen in life so that the good things seem even better.

The dear, sweet man said last night that he wanted to buy me something special to remind me of my gran and moms ring, kind of like your suggestion Buena Girl. He really reminds me every single day why I love him so much.

Thanks again for all the support, you LIW are amazing.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 4/14/2005 2:42:40 AM
Author: Shay

Unfortunately my bf seems to be taking this while thing personally, even though it wasn''t his fault in any way he blames himself. If anything it''s my fault for not making use of the perfectly good safe! My mom thinks it''s a male protective thing and he''s upset because he didn''t protect things that are important to me.

The dear, sweet man said last night that he wanted to buy me something special to remind me of my gran and moms ring, kind of like your suggestion Buena Girl. He really reminds me every single day why I love him so much.

Thanks again for all the support, you LIW are amazing.

My hubby went through the same thing. Felt like it was his fault & couldn''t fix the feeling of violation in me. Take advantage of his offer. It will feel like he is doing *something* & help him - and you get a sweet bauble to boot.

 

[Patty]

Very sad, Shay. I''m sorry this happened to you.

But yes, your b/f is definitely a keeper.

 

[icekid]

ohh Shay... that''s horrible!! i really hope you are able to get your sentimental pieces back. your bf sounds just like mine though, gotta love those boys! what a sweetie

 

[JCJD]

Shay - So sorry to hear about this! You have such a great attitude about it though, you''ll get through this easily I think! You know what''s important in life, that you and your family are safe, and I''m glad to hear about your wonderful future hubby and future MIL!!
I do hope you can find your possessions soon though, and that the police catch the perpetrator!! My heart goes out to that child that was forced to commit this crime - how terrible, to use a child in this manner!!

 

[sparklish]

Wow, how sad. I had some things stolen when I was a teen - an Omega watch left to my by my dad and a locket with a locket of baby hair in it from my grandmother. It was devastating. I hope they find your things. On the bright side, your guy sounds like a sweetie.

 

[Kaili]

Shay, my heart goes out to you. I''m so sorry. I am glad that you and your bf are ok! I think your attitude is amazing!! I hope you recover your jewels.

 

[Jennifer5973]

I am so angry reading this.

How dare they!

I guess it is a reality of the (often cr*ppy) world we live in but it doesn''t make it any less horrible or wrong. I am so sorry this happened to you.

I applaud your positive outlook--i don''t know if I''d be capable of remaining so calm and colelcted.

Hang tough... and in the end, you are right--these are "things" a special and valuable as they are...but not your health or life.

 

[cute330xigrl]

Oh Shay, so sorry to hear. Thank all the lucky stars you both weren''t home when this happened!! We were robbed twice by the same kid. Took us a year to move.. but there''s nothing like the feeling of comfort. Best wishes on your move and in your new place. Ugh, so irritating to hear this kind of stuff.