The Lawnmower Detective: Bag of Stolen Jewelry Found in Yard

Nobody expects to finally mow the yard after two weeks of nasty bronchitis infections, and uncover a secret stash of stolen jewelry.  Well, it happened to me on Sunday, June 5th.  My lawnmower passed through some kudzu and the glint of gold revealed a white knit bag of gold, watches, earrings, pearls, and other heirloom jewelry!

Normally any treasure would be owned by the finder, but I simply cannot keep jewelry that I know does not belong to me, without first searching for the owner and reporting the find to the police.

I had looked over the kudzu patch and tall grass the day before, and did not see the sack.  So, I assumed the sack had been tossed into the yard that day.  I immediately brought the bag of jewelry up to Cobb County Police Department Headquarters, and Officer Swift later arrived an hour later, in the 93 degree heat, to meet me and collect the jewelry.

I could not sit still on the case, so I did a little digging of my own.  I uncovered a series of possible crime trends here in Marietta, and found out through chats with several neighbors that the jewelry may in fact have sat in my kudzu patch for over six months.  This case is ongoing and new developments will be covered in future blog articles, as the story is too long for a single article.

For now, I have the following advice to give from my recent experience: If it's a Sunday, don't bother trying to drop off stolen goods at Cobb County Police Department.  Simply call the non-emergency number and wait for an officer to arrive. If you do want to show up in person, wait until normal business hours to go to your local precinct. And if you see a thief running away from the loot, call 911 and immediately report him or her. Good neighbors can work together to save property and lives!

Cheers!
~ Amy Barnes