Burglarized

This morning we got one of those phone calls you hate to get. The Jemez Pueblo Police called and asked if we owned a green Yamaha ATV. Answer: yes. Next they asked if we had given permission to anyone to use the ATV. Answer: No. Turns out thieves were there probably last night or early this AM. They broke the padlock off the shed where they found a 6 foot steel digging / prying bar they used to pry open the barn doors where the ATV was stored. The same bar was used to do one of the best/worst demolitions of the cabin door.

Good news is the police apprehended one person in possession of the stolen ATV and a 12 gauge shotgun we kept in the cabin. The cop saw the ATV being driven on a public road, a no-no here, and did a traffic stop. We pick the ATV up from the police impound tomorrow. The thieves packed the three totes on it with assorted camping gear, some tools and a bunch of our favorite oatmeal from the cabin. We met with county detectives up there and I already have the shotgun back.

Missing still are some biggish items; Honda EU2000i, ATV utility trailer, Husky chain saw, 40” TV and some ammo, about 400 .22LR, 100 .45LC and 50 assorted 12 gauge shells. And a bunch of smaller stuff like 2 way radios, IR thermometer, gasoline…. With any more luck we had with the timely apprehension of one of the thieves we may recover some other goods. And then maybe not.

Our neighbors were also hit. We know this happened after Wed night because James was there then.

That totally sucks, very sorry to hear. You always assume you are safe in the country, but criminals are criminals. Did you have any kind of surveillance setup, maybe some game cams or other? This is what freaks me out about our new cabin, it may be empty for periods of time and I need to find a way to secure it or at least notify me as soon as something goes wrong. Sounds like a remote monitoring systems is in order... not sure what will work in Canada though.

Problem is the system doesn't take this kind of thing very seriously. You have to wonder if they did like in some other countries and chop the thieves hands off if that would deter them from ever trying it again. Too little jail time (3 squares and a roof over your head) and not enough real deterrent.

Hope you recover as much as possible. Are you also insured? Anything you plan to do to for the future?

Don sorry to hear about the breakin. But with today's society it is bound to happen sooner or later. This is something I have seen many times before. You are fortunate that the police got an early leed and are actively following up. Hopefully they can determine who else was involved and recover the additional property.

With a remote seasonal cabin it is almost impossible to safeguard against this. The best suggestion is to document any serial numbers of valuables and photograph the items. A couple trail cams are good to later identify persons involved. The police have been for years a "reactive" force rather than a "proactive" and I wouldn't look for that to change. You might check some of the pawn shops in the area to see if any of your property shows up.

Bummer, I hate a thief.
Instead of 3 hots and a cot, actually the ancient deterrent for breaking and entering was the thief was buried just outside of the wall. As one guy with a large excavator said, "The county can only go down 12 feet"

Surprised they took that much effort on the door. Generally they would kick in and the jam would split out. If that didn't work a window is usually the next entry point. Looks like they were determined. Any further info from the investigators?