Doug Fielding wants his laptop back, but more importantly, he wants the photos of his toddler that are on the hard drive.
Fielding, who owns Douglas Family Motors at Kabani Auto, said someone swiped his Samsung laptop from his office on Monday, July 7, while he was in a meeting in Richmond. The laptop contained hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of his son Gabriel, who is almost two years old.
“It has all the photos of my family and my son since he was born,” said Fielding. “Every occasion – Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, birthdays.
“We can’t get those back unless we get the laptop back without it erased.”
Unfortunately for Fielding, the surveillance camera in his office wasn’t recording at the time of the theft, but he has a strong belief that he came face to face with the suspect.
“Two nights later, I caught someone walking down this hallway, around the same time that we thought maybe the laptop went missing,” said Fielding. “He was actually going to open the door of the office next to me, and he said he was looking for the restroom and that his car was getting detailed at Key West Ford.
“I followed him to the back where he hopped on a green moped and took off.”
Fielding described the man as Caucasian, in his mid-20s to mid-30s. He noted the man was wearing a silver motorcycle helmet and had some tattoos, including one on his right hand. There was no licence plate on the moped.
While he’s not entirely certain what model of laptop he had, he believes it’s part of Samsung’s Series 9 line of computers. He noted that the laptop is metallic grey and has a thin screen as well as a Dual Core processor. The thief also took the laptop’s charger and a black Calvin Klein messenger bag.
In the three years he’s operated the lot, Fielding said nothing worse than people stealing change out of ashtrays has happened on his lot.
“It’s a little disappointing that we can’t even exit our offices to go on a test drive or visit with customers and have to worry about someone sneaking in and stealing our property,” he said. “I’m just hoping that someone who reads the story knows where it is and returns it.”
Fielding said he’s willing to pay for the laptop, whether or not the photos are still there, but he’s really hoping they are.
“You can’t really put a price on the pictures.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Douglas Family Motors at 778-928-0055, or call the New West Police Department's non-emergency line at 604-525-5411. To report information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
