Stolen hp 120s recovered!

[The 66 Kid]

It took all of about 20 hours, but the 2 hp 120s that were stolen from my truck sunday or monday night were recovered today! The only thing that outweighs my jubilation over recovering these 1 year old tanks is the gratitude I feel towards two local dive shops that made this possible: Jupiter Dive Center and ScubaWorks. It's a fairly long story, but here goes . . . .

Went diving Sunday and left the three tanks in my truck the last couple of days. I noticed last night that I was short 2 hp 120s. I posted here and on the planet hoping that someone might hear something. About half an hour after my post, I got a pm from John at ScubaWorks (which is about 7 miles from where the tanks were stolen) letting me know that someone called them earlier that day trying to sell them 2 used tanks. The seller was obviously not a diver as he didn't know the capacity, steel or aluminum, or anything else about the tanks. The seller said he would be by today to drop off the tanks.

I talked to John this morning and gave him a full description of the tanks. If the guy came in and the tanks matched the description for mine, he was going to do a real slow VIP to give the cops time to get there. Fortunately, ScubaWorks has caller id so they had the guy's cell phone number. John called the guy sometime this afternoon when he didnt show to let him know he was still interested in buying the tanks. I am not real sure what the guy's response was to the phone call but hopefully John can fill in the blanks.

In the meantime, I called Jupiter Dive Center to get a copy of the invoice for filing the police report. I also let them know to be on the lookout for the tanks as well.

They guy ends up not bringing the tanks into ScubaWorks. What did happen though is that a "good samaritan" dropped by Jupiter Dive Center around 4 this afternoon brought in my tanks! He says he was working on a construction site in the area and found the tanks hidden on the property under some jumper cables and clothes. The tanks have VIP stickers for JDC so thats why he says he brought them there. When asked if he wanted to leave his name and number so that the lucky owner could thank him, he declined and said to "just tell him merry christmas early". Gerry and the gang got his tag number before he left though. At the end of the day, the tanks are back at JDC getting filled and the ordeal ended up saving me the trip in.

Admittedly, I have absolutely no proof that the guy who called ScubaWorks had anything to do with my tanks going missing. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Likewise, I have no proof that the guy who returned the tanks had anything to do with them going missing either. Maybe he really did just find them on the jobsite and just happens to live less than two miles from my house. Maybe not. We'll see if the owner of the cell phone is the same guy that dropped off the tanks. As Marsellus Wallace said, "I ain't through with you by a damn sight."

What I can prove is that the guys at ScubaWorks and Jupiter Dive Center absolutely rock! Without their help, I'd be in the market for another $700 in tanks. I cannot thank those guys enough. Try getting that kind of help from an online dive shop.

Some takeaway points from this mess:

1. Do a better job of locking my truck at night and not leaving expensive items in plain sight unnecessarily.
2. Write down the serial numbers for all my tanks.
3. Write my name on the tank neck.
4. Write something else on the tank behind the boot and out of sight.

I'll do a follow-up post if we manage to get anything out of the cell phone/tag info.

[Mobile Diver]

Great news!!

I have had my share of stuff stolen & never found. You are right, the 2 dive shops are awesome!!

[23six]

nice

[stallbaum]

Cool that rocks man.

[slughunter]

If you anything that could be recycled out and not nailed down, the crooks will grab it up and recycle it! They stole the drinking fountain from the horse corral!

[headhunter561]

glad you got your tanks back. John D is tha man!

[MuddyRubberDuck]

Awesome. Can I take you to Vegas to borrow some of your luck?

[Man-O-War]

Sweet

[pirate_diver]

always good to look out for each other. glad you got the tanks back.

[Desert Diver]

Almost became an involuntary freediver! Glad you got'em back. I hate thieves, the don't just steal from one person, they rob everybody of peace of mind. If the seller and the good samaritan are the same person, I hope they got a really good scare and will think twice. If it really was a good samaritan, you have some good karma coming back your way.

Everybody appreciates the dive shops being on a watch for stuff like that.

[The 66 Kid]

It turns out the seller and the good samaritan were not the same person. They both live less than 4 miles from my house and 2 miles from each other. The good samaritan does not have a criminal record. The seller is a 20 something kid who got busted for burglary a couple years ago. He picked up a new arrest in october for child abuse and domestic battery for which he is currently out on bail awaiting trial. Seems like a really nice guy.

[Bulit7]

All ends well.

Good job to the shops for looking out for them.

[Akula]

Wow, its a damn shame you couldnt have gotten that prick nailed so he gets put where he ought to be, instead of running around free stealing shit and beating children

:/

[kitespearo]

Good Job JDC and Scubaworks
They have always been top notch