Need help. My staff person was just robbed at Salt Pond.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 7:09 pm

Wow, that's awful! Hope they make the best of the last days of their vacation, and make it home without problems.
And we're going to scan ID to email...great tip!

FinsUp · Post by **FinsUp** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:52 pm

So sorry to hear this..what a downer for a vacation. What a great idea to scan passport and id's..definitely will do for future travelling

Bill in Va · Post by **Bill in Va** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:04 pm

Yo....yes the drama is over. Yes this did happen and they did go to the police. It really sucks since this was her first trip to the rock. She has been with us for 11 years and has heard our STJ stories every year and finally decided to go and take her son and new husband and his two sons. I performed their wedding by the way....We wired her bucks to get them through the rest of their stay...all credit cards were stolen. Numerous calls back and forth and they are okay and have agreed that this will not spoil the rest of the stay. May we all learn from this. It is paradise but some don't play by the correct rules...it really hurts. Any body on island that would like to give them a boat ride or fishing trip please chime in.. ...hope the theives sleep well tonight...I wonder what they will say when they face the Lord...I must forgive them...God bless....Bill

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:03 am

Certainly an unfortunate incident and I am glad to hear they have found a way to work it out for the rest of their vacation - The tips that everyone offered seem to be great ideas and well worth the pre planning for any emergency involving ID and such -- One thing no one mentioned and not trying to place any blame on this terrible experience but --- I am not sure of or maybe misunderstanding the circumstances but why would they leave all their money , ID, credit cards and wallets in an unattended rental car by the side of the road anywhere in the world?

bubblybrenda · Post by **bubblybrenda** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:50 am

I'm with Gromit. Have all my ID scanned and saved in an email address I can check via webmail should the need ever arise. Also keep a spare colour photocopy of my passport and flight plans tucked away in a pocket of the suitcase.

surfnh · Post by **surfnh** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 7:47 am

Hey exit zero, I think from the first post that only their wallets were stolen, no mention of passports, but I suppose they learned this the hard way. Many good suggestions here. When driving around any island, I can't imagine needing anything more than 1 credit card, drivers license, and maybe $20.

One thing to add, I think bougainvillea rental cars always has a copy of our drivers license in their files, I imagine the other rental agencies do the same, just in case u needed an ID quickly.

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:57 pm

I only thought the original post said the ID and cash and credit cards were stolen - a lot of the other tips included passports and other good ideas.
It was the topic header that really intrigued me because robbery includes another person and a threat or act of violence -[ they were not robbed at Salt Pond ! ] and I was relieved it was a simple case of theft.

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 6:10 pm

Exit Zero wrote: It was the topic header that really intrigued me because robbery includes another person and a threat or act of violence -[ they were not robbed at Salt Pond ! ] and I was relieved it was a simple case of theft.

I would call it burglary, not a simple case of theft, but yes, for it to be robbery the victims would have had to have been present.

alw1977 · Post by **alw1977** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:04 am

Alright, I'm gonna put my former "criminal attorney" hat on for a minute a hash this out. It's been a while, so my hat is dusty.

A robbery is indeed when something is taken directly from a person's possession. Robbery by sudden snatching occurs when someone grabs your purse and runs, armed robbery occurs when you are robbed and an offensive weapon is used (or you give the appearance a weapon is used - there doesn't actually have to be a weapon for an armed robbery charge if you make the victim think you have a gun or knife.)

A burglary is entering someone's home, business or vehicle with the intent to commit a theft or other felony. So technically this is a burglary. Still crappy. But robberies are much scarier, IMO. A very bold act that often has violent consequences.

That's my lesson for today.

surfnh · Post by **surfnh** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 7:02 am

Ha! Excellent lesson......what am I doing awake so early reading this stuff?????

Oh well, I guess we've all wondered about that parking lot at salt pond over the years, it's pretty remote but it's always been empty of people hanging around when we've been there and we've never had an issue (knock on wood). Some of the places where we surf in Puerto Rico we're advised to leave nothing in the car and leave the windows wide open, so they won't break anything while searching through ur car. Not sure if I'm game enough to try that at salt pond?

This stuff could happen anywhere, just a shame it even comes up in this world, bad people really suck!

C Byrd · Post by **C Byrd** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:08 pm

I am shocked to hear that a theft has occurred at Salt Pond more than once. On an island the size of St. John a thief wouldn't have far to run. What are the police doing about this? Are there any suspects?

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:04 pm

Well they could run to neighboring islands if they were so inclined - remember St Thomas and Tortola are only a short ferry ride away and I am not saying the thieves were from either of those islands please don't get me wrong I'm just saying it is easy to leave the island and vanish.

Pia

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:22 pm

surfnh wrote:Ha! Excellent lesson......what am I doing awake so early reading this stuff?????

Oh well, I guess we've all wondered about that parking lot at salt pond over the years, it's pretty remote but it's always been empty of people hanging around when we've been there and we've never had an issue (knock on wood). Some of the places where we surf in Puerto Rico we're advised to leave nothing in the car and leave the windows wide open, so they won't break anything while searching through ur car. Not sure if I'm game enough to try that at salt pond?

This stuff could happen anywhere, just a shame it even comes up in this world, bad people really suck!

When we were in Bonaire last month, we were given the same instruction about leaving the car open with nothing in it that you ever want to see again.

JIM

rpplano · Post by **rpplano** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:48 pm

So sad for their misfortune. I did see a potential weakness in some of the advice. Email is not usually a secure method for sending any personal data. It's unlikely that someone's emails will be intercepted, but it is possible unless the emails are encrypted. Think it through before emailing yourself with sensitive documents attached. The odds are on your side due to numbers, but it is possible to have emails intercepted. I have worked around this by keeping a secure FTP folder at a data hosting service. I can access my documents from any internet connection without any risk. Might be overkill, now that I read this, but I hope I never need those backup documents.

surfnh · Post by **surfnh** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:50 am

rpplano wrote:So sad for their misfortune. I did see a potential weakness in some of the advice. Email is not usually a secure method for sending any personal data. It's unlikely that someone's emails will be intercepted, but it is possible unless the emails are encrypted. Think it through before emailing yourself with sensitive documents attached. The odds are on your side due to numbers, but it is possible to have emails intercepted. I have worked around this by keeping a secure FTP folder at a data hosting service. I can access my documents from any internet connection without any risk. Might be overkill, now that I read this, but I hope I never need those backup documents.

How do you feel about uploading to google doc's? Secure enough? That's where I keep my rum recipes, no one has swiped them yet.....but seriously, I would think that's secure.

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