Lost and found

Two officers were dispatched to O’Dowd Hall for a reported larceny on Feb. 14, 2019. While the officers were en route to the victim’s office, one of them was stopped by a witness who claimed to have seen the suspect recently near the scene. Upon arriving at the office, the officers got a description of the black leather briefcase that was stolen from the victim and broadcast both descriptions to all other officers.

After receiving information about the suspect and being told they could still be inside O’Dowd Hall, both officers checked all five floors of the building. Other officers began reviewing camera files, looking for a suspect. One of the officers observed a subject matching the description entering Elliott Hall, but was unable to make contact with him once inside the building. Officers checked adjacent buildings for the laptop bag, suspecting the thief may have taken the contents and ditched the bag, but found nothing.

The victim said all of her important possessions were inside the bag, including her house and car keys and her phone. She was concerned the suspect would use the keys to break into her house or car, and take more of her belongings. The officers used her coworker’s phone to track her Android and were able to locate it in P16. They were able to narrow down the location to the specific place in which the suspect had parked.

Dispatch was notified and an officer went to the location of the suspected car. The officer saw a black laptop bag matching the description in the back seat. Upon arrival, the victim found most of her belongings still inside, but was missing $300 cash, some savings bonds and her medications. Her keys were located later by using the victim’s Tile app, but no further belongings were found.