That is horrible! Keep your eye out on eBay. They find a lot of stolen goods on eBay. On another note, you are a terrific artist! Best of luck finding your treasures.

Another thing-
If any of you frequent antique stores and would like to help out (especially if you live in NC or surrounding states and Florida), I can mail copies of the flyer to give to store owners. Everyone I've contacted has been very helpful and very interested in the flyer. Many have posted it next to their cash registers. Thanks!

Also check CraigsList!

I live in Johnson City, TN (just 45 minutes away)and we have a lot of antique stores. It may be possible that your merchandise could end up here.

Do a Google of antique stores in both Johnson City and Jonesborough to get addresses. I am sure that most owners would be willing to help you.

newhomebuilder - Thanks for the suggestion. I've considered spending a weekend searching that area, as I have family I could stay with. I also have an antique dealer friend near Sevierville who said he'd keep an eye out for it. He's just one man so I still need to get over there plus down to Greenville/Spartanburg. This is really taking a lot of time and gasoline but I'm also starting to develop a much greater appreciation of antiques. I've bought a few small pieces that look great in the house!

By the way, I realize I may have scared people off with my suggestion to post flyers. I won't mention it again.
Thanks for reading and I hope no one else experiences anything like this!

What a shame! Those were irreplaceable memobillia.

You did not mention that anything else in the house was disturbed or ramsacked. Thieves usually look for cash because this is hard to trace and easy to use. I have a hunch that the thief knew these pieces were there beforehand, and targeted just those items. He/she probably did the job in less than a minute and was outta there. Were there any visitors in your house over the past 2 months with whom you were not well aquainted? Maybe party attendees. If so, tell the police about them.

I am wondering how they came to be stolen? That picture while interesting is of no great value....and the dishes shown in the picture would be no more than perhaps $20 each...I collect red transferware and have quite a few souvenir plates.
Were tehre other things stolen as well? Those items would hardly be worth taking a chance to steal them....and unless someone has a buyer in mind, they would be hard to turn into a quick buck.
Those plates are far from one of a kind....but the picture, while not one of a kind, likely will be easier to trace.
Linda C

The house had been unlived-in for a while, and we can't pinpoint exactly when the theft happened, except that it was mid-December. My brother, who works nearby, sometimes eats lunch there. He said he discovered unlocked doors on several occasions that week, so it was obvious they were coming in for a while to look around. They were coming in a window and leaving through the door. They also stole a 10 year-old checkbook of mine that was in a box in the attic. It had my maiden name, old address, and an area code that was changed years ago. That didn't stop them from passing nearly $2000 worth of bad checks for gift cards, pizza, and phone bills. And no, we couldn't track them that way. Verizon Wireless refused to help, citing privacy issues. I did get to see them on a grocery store surveillance video and was surprised that it was two young women. It wasn't good enough to prove anything, and my guess is that there were guys involved too. They lit one of our candles and dripped wax in dresser drawers and on the floor as they searched through our stuff. The stolen picture was replaced with a print from another wall, eveidently to keep us from noticing. And, strangely enough, they ditched a worthless telescope and box of used golf balls under a bush in the front yard, only to come back for them the next night while two cars sat in the driveway. We think that they are: a) not smart, and b) kids.
So far we have no leads but plenty of suspects in the surrounding neighborhood. I think the picture is either gracing the walls of some nearby trailer, or hanging in an antique store out-of-state. Oh well, I can still hope and pray...
Shannon

I hate to ask this but is there a memeber of the family that maybe no one gets along with, That knows where the house is. I know the items are not worth much but memories are priceless.

Good point Countryjunk....
The monetary value is not really great enough to risk arrest. I think it's a "spite theft".

No, you'd be surprised at how clueless a thief can be, unless they make their living at it. We were burgled 23 years ago, and the idiots broke in an old, very strong wooden door, ruining the frame when they could have just as easily knocked out the glass and opened it. We were just married, and our wedding gifts were sitting on the dining room floor. We had antique coin collections and other things of obvious value and the only thing stolen was a ratty old television and they forgot to take the remote. The door was worth more than the television.

The burglers were caught, and the old man had priors, and the kid who was helping him was a juvenile and probably got off scott free.

A relative also was burgled in the city, when a thief broke into their home in broad daylight through a front porch window. The big dog inside probably licked him to death in welcome.

There were thousands of dollars of technical equipment and an office with more expensive computers and paraphenalia, and all he stole was an electric razor, and a laptop with data on it of a sentimental nature, and some CDs. My guess is he needed a shave, wanted a laptop and liked music.

The picture was probably taken because somebody 'liked' it. Perhaps even the plate. Easy in, easy out. It's not always about money. Nobody who breaks in an empty house expects to get caught, and it often has little to do with risking an arrest because of it. It was just easy and somebody may have been nosy and took advantage of the situation.

As for verizon refusing to cooperate on privacy issues, that's what police warrants are for. Isn't it ridiculous, if they used your check and your name to buy that phone, then it's your freaking phone.

I'm so sorry! I just can't deal with a thief! I had an antique motorcycle of mine stolen a few months back. The police all but rolled their eyes as I was talking to them. My dad had given it to me for kindergarten graduation. That was in 1971. Then my son rode it and he died four years ago in a car accident. Needless to say, I was on a mission to get my motorcycle back. I started talking to neighbors. My most important question.."did anyone hear my outside dog bark"? There answer was "no". So, after some thinking.., I thought I had it figured out. The only people she doesn't bark at, because of a strict schedule, was the trash collectors. The next morning I waited for them to come to my house.., sure enough..she didn't bark! I went right then to their main office and made my presence known. Of course I was bluffing! I handed out hard,colored "reward" flyers to anyone that would take one and any store that would display one. I said there was a reward for me to get my bike back, no questions asked! I saturated the city with posters. I went to some bad places but nobody messed with me. I think they knew I meant business.., I wanted my bike back! Finally, I got a phone call. The lead turned out negative, but the call was from a trash collector, on my route. I stayed in that area a couple of days, up and down the road! I decided to let it cool for a week or so. Well, a few days later,about 11:30pm, the doorbell rings! One of my thug contacts was there with his 2 kids. He had my bike! It was in mint condition! I didn't show my excitement and asked him what he wanted, he said he had paid $100.00 to get it for me. Right! I told him I'd get with him the next day, I wanted to sleep on it. The next day, I went to pay him of course. I had one question for him.."why didn't you call me", I knew how hard my house was to find. He said that he had thrown the flyer away. You know my next question..."then how did you know where I lived"? He had no answer! I gave him the money and asked if the police could come talk to him and maybe catch the "guy" that sold it to him. He said that was fine, just to give him a head's up before they showed up at his house. Yea, right! Anyway, long story short, the trash truck driver had stolen it and sold it to the thug. The thug and the other rider on the truck ratted out the driver so they could split the 100.00. Anyway, I think they knew that everyone was aware it had been stolen and there were very few in the U.S.. It was going to be impossible to do anything without alarms gong off, so they settled for the money. Ha.., the thug was in the paper last week for "receiving stolen property". I didn't turn either men in, but it caught up with them somewhere down the line! So, don't give up! Someone will talk! Money is so tight right now. Just keep the word going around! Don't let it die down. Keep the fear out there and "fast cash" for info leading to your stuff,"no questions asked"...Someone will talk., money talks! Long story, but I wanted to give you hope and maybe your second wind! Walk with a purpose and let everybody know that "you're getting your stuff back"! Hang in and Good Luck! Stay with it!

I am wondering why the police don't get a warrent? Isn't it a felony to cash stolen checks?

casey04,
Thank you for that great and inspirational story! I wish I could go put that much effort into my case. Unfortunately I live an hour's drive away from the house and I have two small kids to deal with. I have given out lots of flyers to pawn shops, antique dealers, etc, but I didn't include anything about a reward. I hope they assume that part on their own!
As far as value - I've heard everything from "no value" to $1500 for the carving if it's truly "Black Forest". Well, gee, if I could only see it again, then I could tell you for sure. And the dishes were two entire sets, not just single pieces...
Oh well, I just really want that picture back!

dilly_dally: I thought the police could do more about the check to Verizon, too. I'm confused about that. They told me of another case where Verizon refused to let them see surveillance tapes and it just doesn't make sense. All I actually know about the Verizon check is the dollar amount ($723.75). It was an "e-check" with no number. Verizon says they simply can't track it without more info. Not so sure I buy that!

I do not buy that either.

Depending where you live, $2,000 is a felony. The police can't say that Verizon is just being "mean" and not helping them, so they can't pursue anything. Can you imagine if they investigated everything with this attitude? Like, "The gun store won't tell us who bought the murder weapon so we can't go further with the investigation."

Verizon won't release their records to just anyone who asks of course and they won't release anything directly to you. The police need to get a warrant or subpoena to do it properly. Maybe you have to go to a Sargent or the Chief of Police to get something moving.