THE THIEF

It started out as any other Saturday would have started out for us, little did we know that this day would end so differently. But, isn't that the way life is - we never know from one moment to the next what is about to happen?

I had just returned to the island after a long visit to the United States. My tan had faded and I was very anxious to spend the day with Gary relaxing in the sun and trying out our new underwater camera. When we had first moved to the island, we would scout out new beaches on the North, South, East and West coasts. Whenever we had the chance to get away, we would take the map of the island and go explore a new beach area. The north side of the island really doesn't have many beach areas - it is more gigantic cliffs. Where you can stand and listen and watch the waves crashing against the sides. Spectacular views from the north coast where the Atlantic and Caribbean seas meet. The beaches on the south coast are a lot more calmer, and it isn't uncommon to see windsurfers and board surfers out each day. The east coast is right against the Atlantic Ocean, so it's beaches can be very rough - usually there are many red signs that signal not to swim in these waters. But, there are some choice beach locations on the east side which are protected by the natural coral reefs. As a matter of fact, one of the top ten beaches in the world is on the east side - Crane Beach. Then, the west coast is full of beaches with very calm waters - where you hear more of an occasional lap of a wave instead of the crashing heard on the opposite side of the island.

North Coastline

Crane Beach - East Coastline

West Coastline at sunset

There is one particular beach that Gary and I are fond of that is on the south coast. It's name is officially Worthing Beach, but most Bajans call it Sandy Beach. We like Sandy Beach whenever the tide is low, because we can walk out a long ways in the ocean and the water is still below our waists. We like it because it has a natural coral reef off the shore line, which protects us from the waves. We like it because the water is the most gorgeous shade of blue. The water temperature is perfect. It is a great spot to snorkel. It has a great beach to lay out on. The beach is never crowded, but has a good flavoring of people from the tourist to the locals.

So, since I wanted to snorkel and try out my new underwater camera and since the tide level was low, we decided to spend our day at Worthing Beach! I was so looking forward to a great day - there were no clouds - it was going to be a good one. I worked hard at getting the breakfast dishes cleared away and to start the packing process. This particular beach does not have a permanent guy that rents out the chairs to visitors, so we needed to also pack up the beach chairs, umbrellas, and beach blanket. I made the best sandwiches with lots of extras in each one. I packed up the drinks in two coolers. I also packed grapes and apples and chips. I was anticipating a long stay at the beach. Snorkeling equipment was rinsed off and lubricated up and fixed ahead of time. Underwater camera was checked for battery life. Suntan lotion was applied. Sunglasses, books, hats, ipods, little bit of money - everything was packed up.

When we got to the beach, we decided that we wanted to lay out for a little bit before going snorkeling. We got to the beach around 10:30am. Oh, and the tree on the beach wasn't taken yet! Yeeha, we were actually going to get to place our chairs under the tree - no need to lug the umbrellas down! So, we took the two chairs and set up under the tree and we took the beach blanket and laid it out on the white sand for some sun. Oh, it feels so good - that sun - at first, it feels like a soothing feeling that I can not even describe. Of course, after a little while, the sun gets hot and we either have to head for the water or a shade.

In this case, we decided to go snorkeling. We do not trust leaving our stuff out on the beach while we are snorkeling - we have been advised several times by the locals not to leave anything unattended. So, we pick up everything that we have out there except for the two chairs guarding our tree spot and two beach towels in the chairs. We went back to the parking lot and put all our stuff in the back of our SUV. We changed into our snorkeling equipment right there by the SUV and then headed back towards the ocean.

We saw some people that had on uniforms(we would find out later that they are called Rangers) and decided to ask them what we should do with our car keys. I was hoping that they would offer to keep our keys for us, but instead they suggested that we place the keys under our towels in our chairs. That they would keep an eye on our stuff. So, that is what we did. Right when we started into the water, I turned to Gary and asked him if he had made sure the car door was locked. This is one of those frustrating times in life, isn't it? I mean, why couldn't I think to ask that question while we were still back in the parking lot - right by the car, right? Instead, I only think to ask it many steps later. But, Gary said no, he wasn't completely sure, so poor Gary walked back to the car to double check that it was locked. After all, it had the food, coolers, beach bag, everything in it! He came back and said that it was locked and so, we felt secure and safe and off we went into the beautiful water and day to go snorkeling.

(Picture taken with new camera - not quite sure yet how to eliminate water droplets, but wanted you to see the color of the water off of Worthing Beach.)

We saw some young turtles around us, but they were not people friendly - and so, we could not get close enough to them for some good pictures. It was a lot of fun snorkeling and we were having a good time, laughing and enjoying life. Gary realized that he needed more sunscreen on, and we were getting hungry, so we headed back to the beach and the parking lot. Our keys were safely tucked under our towels - so, everything was looking great. Or so we thought!

Gary was a few feet ahead of me, walking towards our car in the parking lot. He had the car clicker and pushed the unlock button. As he did this, he noticed that someone was sitting in our car in the passenger front seat! Naturally, the first thing he does is look down at the car and the license plate to make sure that we were not trying to get into the wrong car! But, it was our car. The man starts getting out of the car at this point, because he heard the click of the doors as Gary was approaching. Gary asked the man what he was doing in our car and the man had a sheepish look to him, mumbling something about having a good day. Gary then looks at the man and says, "Your a thief!" At which point, the thief looks at Gary and says, "I didn't hit you too hard, man" and starts running away. Gary, instinctly, starts running after him and starts yelling, "Thief, Thief."

I also start yelling, "Thief, Thief, Thief." That is all I can do. The men are already way out ahead of me and I am just standing there in shock and disbelief, but at the same time I continue to yell, "Thief, Thief, Thief." Have you ever wondered if when you get into a situation like this - that you would be able to yell and have sound come out of your mouth? Well, I have wondered this. Lots of times, in the night - I will have a dream where something scary is about to happen and I wake up with my whole being trying to scream, but nothing comes out. Now, at least I know that when a situation like this arises, at least I have the ability to scream. So, that is what I kept doing - I screamed over and over "Thief, Thief." At one point, I also called out the name of Jesus! I didn't care what I sounded like or looked like.

I was worried as well - in shock - I was watching the man I love more than anything in the world - chasing a thief down a parking lot in a country that is not our own. Fear set in! I looked around me and saw to my surprise that both the thief and Gary had dropped their flip flops at almost the exact same spot - so that they could run faster. I think this was an instinctive move on their parts - not something they had time to think about - they just did it.

When the thief got to the edge of the parking lot, he jumped into a vacant lot next to it which had weeds that were waist high and no telling what kind of garbage had been dumped there. Luckily, Gary did not jump into that lot - but, instead Gary went by the road just a few feet away. I watched as the two men ran eastward behind some buildings in the direction of the beach. I continued to yell "Thief!" I wondered if I looked ridiculous at this point - after all, people were starting to look at me and some were venturing towards me. One elderly couple asked if I was ok, but didn't stop to help. I wasn't thinking - I was just standing there - yelling! What good was I doing? I did start back to the car, thinking I could check on what was stolen, but the car was locked and Gary had the keys. I did pick up both pairs of flip flops that the men were wearing. (Later on, I would realize that this was a wrong move - I was picking up crime scene evidence.) The next thing I remember is a nice looking young man approaching me there in the parking lot. He had on a nice shirt and pair of shorts - not swimming attire. I don't remember what he asked me, I just remember telling him that I thought that we had just had our car broken into and that my husband was chasing the thief going in the westward direction, would he please help my husband by going and chasing him as well. I don't remember what he said to me, but at some point, I realized he was trying to tell me - that he believed our thief had doubled back around to the parking lot and gotten in a car and drove off. He asked me didn't I see the guy driving away? Scary, but I didn't! This whole incident has made me realize - how in a situation such as this - you don't think clearly and you do not realize everything that is going on around you.

It turns out that this young man's name is Daniel. Daniel continues to stand by me and soon we see Gary running back in our direction in the parking lot. Gary comes up to where Daniel and I are standing, and Daniel tells him that he believes his thief drove away. But, Daniel surprises us with the fact that not only does he know the make, model and color of the getaway car - he made a mental note of the license plate number! He asks us if we want to call the police - we do - we ask him what the number is to call - and we find out it is the same as in the United States - 911. We call the police and they say that they will send someone over to Worthing Beach area. We wait and wait and wait. What is so wonderful is that Daniel waits with us! It is extremely hot out there in the parking lot. Daniel could have walked away. He could have chosen to not get involved. He didn't have to wait with us until the police arrived. But, he did! Was Daniel used by God because I had called on the name of Jesus? Every time I tried to talk to either Daniel or Gary, my throat felt awful and it was hard to get any sound out. That is when I realized, how much I must have been yelling through that whole ordeal. It turns out that the Worthing Police Station is literally just a few blocks down from us on the other side of the beach road. While we were waiting on the police, the two Rangers approached us in the parking lot. They were wanting to see what all the ruckus was about. We told them we felt that our car had been broken into and they were surprised that this had happened right under their noses in the open day light. Comments were made that thieves are getting more daring in their attempts because of the hard economic times.

At some point, I had gotten into the SUV and had placed the flip flops on the back floorboard. I had gone through our stuff and noted that all that I think the thief took was around one hundred Bajan dollars (that is roughly fifty US dollars). Amazingly nothing else! He didn't take my drivers license (thank goodness) that was right with the money. He didn't take my iphone or ipod! He was just after the money.

Well, the police finally arrived - two of them, one younger and one older. They didn't seem that interested in the situation - sort of nonchalant, but then again, they are policeman and have to remain calm and level headed. But, it made me wonder were they really even concerned on this petty theft - after all, they have to go after robberies and murderers and such. They start asking us about what happened. Everyone tells their side of the story including Daniel and the Rangers. We tell them that we think the thief didn't take more than around 100 Bajan dollars, but it was more the principle of the matter - that he had broke into our car and was going through our stuff and taking things that were not his to take.

Thank heavens for Daniel! The policeman's interest picked up once they heard that Daniel had noted the license plate number! They asked that Gary and I go with them down to the police station to write up a statement of the theft. They required that I put all of our remaining stuff in the back of the patrol car - so as not to mess up the fingerprints inside our car! Oops! That is when I realized that I probably shouldn't have picked up the flip flops or gone through all our stuff in the car while we were waiting on the police to arrive. But, you just don't think of this kind of stuff in the middle of the ordeal!

Weird feeling, me riding down to the police station in the back of a police car in a foreign country! Gary drove our SUV. It seemed like a life time, me sitting in the reception area of the police station as I waited on Gary to reappear. They had taken him back somewhere for questioning and the statement. They also called in the fingerprint specialist - who dusted the car for the fingerprints. It turns out that the thief had used the small opening that Gary had left in the window - so that the car would not get so hot - to pry the window on down far enough to get his arm into the car to unluck the passenger door. So, the thief's fingerprints were all over the front passenger window and door.

The police said that they would be calling Gary later in the day, if they were able to catch the thief. They told Gary not to get his hopes up, though - that a lot of times these license plates are erroneous. Gary and I were exhausted. We were hungry and tired and just wanted to go home. No longer were there any dreams of a nice, pleasant day at the beach - we just wanted to go home. The thief took not only our money but also other things that money just can not buy.

At this point, in this story - I would like to back up and interject a few things that Gary remembers while he was chasing the thief. Gary remembers that the thief kept looking behind him to see if Gary was still chasing him. Gary remembers the fear in the thief's face. Gary remembers mentally going through what he would actually do - it he caught up with the thief. Gary remembers getting to a point, where it was right at the beach area and there were houses lined up along the way and Gary was wondering if the thief had gone into one of the houses - when a couple of Bajan ladies that were on the beach - helped him out, by yelling to Gary that the guy he was chasing had run that way - which was opposite to the direction that Gary and I thought the thief would have run - it was actually back towards the parking lot! That is why Gary came back to the parking lot so fast - was because the ladies had helped him as well.

The reason Gary and I were so surprised by the thief doubling back and getting in a car and driving off, is that only people with money have cars on the island! So, it was rather weird for a man with a car to actually be stealing from other cars! Another thing that was shocking to Gary and I was that this thief was older! He had gray hair already!

The more travels that I do, the more I realize that things I have always taken for granted in my home country, are not always the same in other countries. For instance, I kept stating that we were robbed. But, the policeman corrected me several times - that it wasn't a robbery. Finally, he told me that a robbery is a lot more serious than a theft - a robbery is when a person is held at gun point or knife point while being robbed on person. I was also corrected by the police on stating that the guards that had watched our keys were called security guards. They corrected me by saying they were NOT security guards. I asked what they were then, and they told me Rangers. I amusingly looked at the lady Ranger who was standing beside me and asked her what her job entailed and she laughed and said - security guard for the beach! Oh well! Rangers they will be from here on out! :-)

We had our lunch back at the apartment. We just sat there, not really saying that much - we finally decided that we would just go down to the beach for a little while right at our apartment. We lathered up with the sunscreen, and were literally about to walk out the door, when of course, the phone rings. It is the police and they tell Gary that the license plate had checked out with the color and make of the thief's car that Daniel had described. They tell Gary that they were in the process of bringing in the owner of the car and that Gary would be called later in the evening after they had picked up seven more guys off the street - for a line up. So, that ended that - we just decided to stay in and wait on the next call from the police - no more beach for the day - what a waste of sunscreen as well! (Everything is very expensive here.)

It was around 6pm that evening, that Gary received the last call from the police. They were requesting that he come down to the police station to identify the thief in the lineup of 8 men. They told Gary that this would be a different type of lineup from those in the states - that there would be no security window/mirror for Gary to stand behind - that he would be face to face with these men. That thought quite unnerved me - I really didn't like the idea of Gary being so close to these guys. But, Gary went down to the police station and faced these men! Gary said that he immediately knew 6 out of the 8 were not the guy, but two of them were similar enough. The one he thought was the thief - would not look Gary in the eyes, the other one just kept looking Gary straight in the face. This makes me think that they knew all along - which of the 8 was going to be the similar faces for Gary to try and differentiate. Gary told the policeman that he felt like one particular man was the thief. But, the policeman asked Gary, "Are you 100% positive that this is the man?" Gary couldn't commit to 100% - and I am so proud of him for that! The last thing Gary or I would ever want to do is to convict the wrong person. The police had not given Gary any instructions prior to going in for the lineup. They did that on purpose. After Gary left the lineup, the policeman told Gary that he had picked the owner of the car, but since he didn't identify him 100%, they were going to have to call in Daniel and see if he identified him in the lineup. Very frustrating!

We did not hear anything else from the police all the next week. Every day that went by, I kept thinking every time the phone rang, that it would be the police with an update - but, day after day no call came. It was late Friday afternoon, that the policeman called and told me to tell Gary that Daniel had been called in and that Daniel had 100% identified the thief and that the thief had plead Not Quilty! They told me that the thief was being held in prison and would be called before the judge at some later time.

That is it! That is all we know. Bajans have told us that it could be a very long time before the prisoner goes before the judge for sentencing - it could take well over a year before anything else happens. So, this guy - the thief - will be in prison for all this length of time - before he is seen before a judge and convicted or not. You would think I would be happy or vindicated by all of this, but I'm not. I feel sorry for the thief. I do not wish him harm. And I would also like to add that Gary and I view Barbados as a wonderful place to live. The people are very nice as was evidenced by Daniel and the two Bajan ladies on the beach. As long as this world remains, there will always be thieves amongst us - no matter where we live.

There are some lessons learned from this that I would like to share with my family and friends. One, do not leave the windows cracked, even ever so slightly, in your cars. Two, don't be bothered by how it might appear to the public, scream and scream loud! Three, try to remain calm and notice every little thing that is going on around you at the time! (I know easier said than done.) Four, don't carry credit cards or large amounts of money with you on short excursions where you know you will not need them - leave them home in a more safer environment. Five, don't carry your real passport with you - carry a copy of the passport and drivers license. Leave the real ones in a safe place back home. And finally, call on the name of Jesus - he is waiting to help you if only you ask!