Pictures of Stolen Tortoises

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Momof4

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Ad looks good!! I really hope you get your little ones back. Has there been any workers in your home in the past few months or even a year? Plumber, painter, carpet cleaner, babysitter or cable guy? Just a thought. I have been checking our San Diego CL daily.
 

ticothetort2

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Man Neal just saw this thread, sorry to hear about it. Makes me sick knowing there are people out there who have to spoil someone's hard work for their own greediness! Hope all turns out well.
 

Laura

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Neal, you can also try posting a ad wanting to buy tortoises.. will pay cash. see if these low lifes contact you. you can aways just turn others down or give them ideas of where to go to sell theirs. dont tell them why you are posting the add in case the slimebags put out feelers..


there is a Pet section and a Lost and found section in craiglist that that ad should go in...its under the Community heading.
 

oscar

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Wondering if there is a nature center or such in your area were someone may get them from the thief's and try to find out what they are and how to take care of them. Also your local pet shops that you say are in your area not actually the thief's but someone who acquired them and not wanting to sell them to the pet store but be in the pet store buying equipment to set them up in, and hopefully give them some information on what they are going to use equipment for.
How about local schools ? nothing like a kid coming in and telling teachers about the new tortoise's they just got.
Hope you get them back safe and sound.
 

DesertGrandma

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Oh Neal. I just got home from staying with my grandkids for three days and read this. I am so so sorry that this has happened to you and your family. Please let me know if there is anything, and I mean anything, that I can do to help. It sounds like you have gotten a lot of good suggestions so far. The only other thing I can think of is to somehow notify the vendors at the upcoming reptile show to be on the lookout for suspicious questions from people asking to identify or sell their tortoises. If they live in your area they just might show up there this weekend. What a really lousy thing for someone to do. I hope you catch the b-----ds and get your precious torts back.

DesertGrandma said:
Oh Neal. I just got home from staying with my grandkids for three days and read this. I am so so sorry that this has happened to you and your family. Please let me know if there is anything, and I mean anything, that I can do to help. It sounds like you have gotten a lot of good suggestions so far. The only other thing I can think of is to somehow notify the vendors at the upcoming reptile show to be on the lookout for suspicious questions from people asking to identify or sell their tortoises. If they live in your area they just might show up there this weekend. What a really lousy thing for someone to do. I hope you catch the b-----ds and get your precious torts back.

Just thinking too, that if they are teenagers looking for money for drugs, they might just have sold them to kids at one of the high schools. High school kids might have the money on them to buy one of them on the spot.
 

clarkrw3

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I am SO sorry Neal!!! I will keep an eye out for them and I hope they turn up soon! The add looks great!

Rob
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Rob:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?
 

yagyujubei

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Unfortunately, I don't think that there's much of a chance that you'll ever see any of these again, unless the burglars are very stupid. I'm amazed, though, that very little else was taken. I think that the thief probably still has them, and simply took them for his own on impulse. Of all of the articles in your house, these would surely be the hardest to sell. Stuff like TV's, tools, computers, bikes, jewelry, are easily saleable. Were any fingerprints recovered? B & E is very different than simply removing them from a yard. That's a good way to get shot.
 

Neal

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I agree that it's not very probable I will see them again. But there is always a possibility, so I will continue to get the information out there and just hope somewhere along the lines they will slip up, or someone will recognize them. I am going to move on though and I hope that others in the tortoise community will be able to take something away from my experience. It could have been a lot worse, and for that, we are very grateful.

They found a couple of fingerprints, I think it will take awhile for them to determine if they are our finger prints or someone else's. We found broken sunglasses by our front door, that I think is going to be the best piece of evidence.
 

Neal

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SailingMystic said:
Any update? Hoping something turns up and in your favor. Glad to see you are determined :)!!

Nothing. I think realistically I have done as much as anyone can do...sure there are other approaches I could have taken but I had to do what I thought was most effective. Regardless of approach, if whoever took them had any intention of selling them I very likely would have seen something unless they sell them privately to a friend or something.

It's been a week today, it has been very cold at night in the mid 40's. Unless they knew a little about reptiles chances are they are in critical condition now, if not, there's a good chance they're dead.
 

CLMoss

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I am so sorry to hear about your loss. My house has been broken into twice. Sadly, I was in the house the second time it took place, and I am glad to be alive. I am always in fear of this happening again. The thought of what you are going thru makes me sick. I really hope that you find your little tortoises.

Take care.
Sincerely, C
 

SailingMystic

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I'm keeping my fingers crossed!! Sometimes it takes a lot of following up (to keep fresh in peoples' minds) and sometimes it just takes hope.

~ "HOPE" is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.

I have hope for you. :tort:
 

Missy

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I agree it sounds like kids. I would post reward signs close to the high schools. Other kids will no something and kids will turn someone in for $$$$.
 

CLMoss

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Just a thought... I don't know if anybody on this thread mentioned this already. How about just putting an ad in the; local papers Craigs' list, flyers, etc. "Looking for turtles & tortoises - willing to pay big $." Use a different email address and phone #. Like the other members, I would think that this was done by teenagers. Also, I think that I read that the tortoises that were taken were the smaller ones: they fit easier in their pocket. Most theives are looking for money & jewelry, small stuff that they can carry away without being noticed. They are smart enough to know that they would be noticed carrying large items like a tv set. However, more sophisticated theives will have a moving van in front of the house.



I live in an urban area and I try to be very careful about who knows what in my home (not that I have anything to worry about but my safety). I am really careful about repair men (somebody did mention this), movers, and any strangers that come into my house. Also, benign things that can bring attention to what I may have in the house, example would be printed return address labels with a tortoise or some type of interest - pet.



It is really sad how we have to live these days, and with the economy tanking the way that it is people will become more desperate.



~C
 

Chreees

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I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I feel your pain I couldn't imagine losing my baby thor. Hence why I lock my room door every time I leave. Hope you find them
 

dmmj

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So I hate to ask, but any word or updates on the stolen tortoises?
 

Neal

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dmmj said:
So I hate to ask, but any word or updates on the stolen tortoises?

Nothing. To be honest, I really hoped that they would try to sell them off somewhere, but it's been so long now. Unless they knew how to keep reptiles there isn't much hope anymore so it's time for us to move on...

Fortunately we kept the serial and model numbers of the game consoles that were stolen. Most pawn shops and video game stores submit a pawn ticket when someone drops off a console that gets run through the police database, so we may get lucky in finding them that way.
 

dmmj

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Man that is terrible, here is hoping the eventually find the crooks, even though the punishment won't be harsh enough for any harm done to the tortoises.
 

webskipper

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Sorry to hear Neal.

If you think they would travel to Tucson call Reptile Specialists and Tropical Kingdom, and the other reptile store Desert Pet.

Tucson Craigslist is clear of tortoises.
 
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