A long story about theft, luck, and the need for camera insurance

I work for the official photographer at a very big sports complex near Minneapolis, MN. The company employs between 3 and 6 photographers at a given event with at least 2 people manning a set of 5 computers.

I brought my usual stuff this morning (745 AM) to the rink:
In a bag: Canon 20D, 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 580EX, Kenko telecon and batteries
On my shoulder: Canon Mark II and 300 2.8

The idea is that each photographer will shoot two rinks at a time, then return their memory cards to a download person, take a brief break depending on how long till the next game, then go again. Today in particular was the playoff day, so we didn't have much time as the games were close together.

I put my camera bag near the end of our table, with the rest of the camera bags- except mine was the closest to the outside. I only carry the rest of my equipment when I have a team photo to do - otherwise I don't have a need for it - just added weight.

I returned at 1230 to grab my lunch to discover that the bag was gone. All the camera bags (everyone else's) were still there, but mine wasn't. We searched our little area for it, under the table curtains and in boxes, and also called all photographers to make sure no one "borrowed" it without telling, though everyone there has a better primary camera than a 20D anyway.

Security is notified. Police are called, incident reports are filed. Everyone is apologetic, knowing that there's really nothing we can do. Anyone who stole it would probably not be stupid enough to use it and would prefer to take the very easy getaway, since our sales people are distracted with customers and only a flight of stairs keeps them from the doors of the crowded event.

I leave, told that I should get my serial numbers and call the police right away to add said numbers to a database for pawn shops.

As I turn out of the facility, something is really nagging me. "Rink 6 Rink 6 Rink 6" I keep thinking.

I drive back, compelled by the voices in my head.

There's the bag, with everything in it, BEHIND A TRASH CAN.

I pick it up, calmly explain to security and the rest of the photo staff what just happened, and go home.

I know for a fact that I didn't remove the bag from behind the table as I had no reason to - weird, huh?

Anywho, just saying that I almost had 2600 dollars stolen from me today. Only take what you need. You might not have voices, too.

And if you don't believe me that I didn't leave the bag there myself, then what will you believe?

EDIT:
My theories: Tons of kids walk behind our booth not realizing that they shouldn't. One could have taken mine, being the smallest bag.
Or maybe someone's crack was THAT expensive and they found something else even more expensive to steal.

chalk one up for dumb luck.

seriously lucky day for you, lol, it's never easy to deal with that sort of thing.

Wow lucky

Maybe someone put it there to take home later, when no one would be looking.

That's certainly quite a stroke of luck I suppose (although if you were really lucky that wouldn't have disappeared in the first place!). Insurance is good, but I would not want to face the situation of dealing with my insurance over a bunch of gear. Would they drop you if they had to replace $3k worth of gear? Either way it could be a hassle.

You think you have problems. I wake up in different rooms than I fall asleep in. Sometimes different houses altogether.

emorphien wrote in post #5773104
That's certainly quite a stroke of luck I suppose (although if you were really lucky that wouldn't have disappeared in the first place!). Insurance is good, but I would not want to face the situation of dealing with my insurance over a bunch of gear. Would they drop you if they had to replace $3k worth of gear? Either way it could be a hassle.

I have insurance through my parents and was initially told that filing a claim would result in dropping our insurance.

I am getting a quote for camera insurance.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #5773436
You think you have problems. I wake up in different rooms than I fall asleep in. Sometimes different houses altogether.

Haha... Kinda curious as to how you enter the other houses, or do you also wake up in handcuffs?

It's just SO WEIRD. Even if I did bring the bag with me, I wouldn't have put it there for sure - its even weirder that apparently I have a mental connection with my gear - it called for me!

Wow, really amazing story. That was plain luck. Someone must've definitely took it, decided they were getting themselves into something really serious, and dumped it. In the end, I'm glad you got your gear back. I would hate to leave my stuff behind for a moment or two just to see it gone.

HuskiesD1 wrote in post #5773463
I have insurance through my parents and was initially told that filing a claim would result in dropping our insurance.

What sort of policy is it?

A lot of people use a personal articles policy designated for photographic equipment. I don't know what happens if a claim is made, I've been meaning to clarify some information with my agent actually.

That reminds me of something that happened to my daughter a couple years ago. (Also a long story)...

Here's the story. Classes at UT (University of Tennessee) were to start the next day. My oldest daughter had to work from 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM at a local restaurant. She needed to download some stuff from the university network so she took her laptop with her intending to go by after she got off from work. Like an idiot, she stuck it under the passenger side seat in her car. After work (ends up working till 11:00 PM) she decides she is too tired and comes home. As soon as she gets home she comes in flying through the house saying her computer is missing. She went to get it out from under the seat and it was not there. We figured she:

A) overlooked it in the car
B) put it in the trunk instead of under the seat
C) took it out at work and forgot it
D) never got to the car with it in the first place and it was in the house somewhere.

(Our money was on D)

After a thorough search of the house and car and with a firm assurance that she did not take it out of the car one she got to work we determined that it must have been stolen. She did not notice anything amiss in the car (of course with all the clothes, makeup, books, magazines, etc...who could tell) and was sure the car was locked. As we were going through the insurance papers to see if it was covered under the homeowners or auto policy and trying to decide when to call the police to report the theft, she jumps up, gets in her car and takes off. I call her on her cell and she says she is going back to the restaurant (15 miles away) to see if anyone saw anything. We get a call pretty quickly and she's yelling on the other end...I FOUND IT..OH MY GOD I FOUND IT! As she was driving down to the restaurant, which is off the main road and close to the Tennessee River, she saw something shiny under some trees. This was about 100 yards or so away from where she parked. She stopped and looked....It was her laptop. Damp from the dew, some ants running through it and some new scratches....but it worked and was not noticeably damaged.

Now this is not just any student $1,000 PC. This is a powerful laptop with lots of graphic stuff and tons of expensive software. She is a architecture/interior design student and new the laptop cost $3,000 before software. One of her professors had given her the full-blown version of Autocad, we had just loaded in the Adobe CS2 Suite and put in another gig of ram. We figure to replace it and all the software would be close to $8,000 (Autocad if purchased new is about $4,000).

She was one lucky girl. Even though it was covered under insurance, it would have been pain, costly (deductible) and time consuming to get it straightened out and they would have not covered the replacement of Autocad. She has no idea what possessed her to get up and go back to the restaurant. If she had asked me if she should go I would have told her that there was NO WAY that computer would be around and it would be a waste of time. I'm glad she didn't ask. She just happened to look to the spot where it was lying. It must have been taken by someone who panicked and dropped it, was too stoned/drunk to figure out what to do with it or someone that couldn't get past the passwords to sign on and figured it wasn't worth it. When she got back to the house she had a death grip on the computer and smile that went from ear to ear. In any case, the odds of her finding that laptop, under these circumstances were pretty slim. She's a good kid, stays out of trouble, makes good grades...maybe...just maybe...her guardian angel was taking care of her...If you believe that sort of thing. I do

That story is even crazier than mine. Thanks for sharing!

OP - sounds like split personalities - that voice in your head was your other identity who hid the bag and was trying to reach out to you - did you black out for half hour during lunch ?

Great story and very lucky !

riyazi wrote in post #5775500
OP - sounds like split personalities - that voice in your head was your other identity who hid the bag and was trying to reach out to you - did you black out for half hour during lunch ?

Great story and very lucky !

Your subconscious wanted your gear to be as good as those of the the other shooters. So you moved the bag and forgot about it.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #5778009
Your subconscious wanted your gear to be as good as those of the the other shooters. So you moved the bag and forgot about it.

It's already as good, and in most cases better

I brought the rest with for team pictures and backup in case something blew up.