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It's annoying enough when a passerby helps himself to flowers from your garden or the newspaper from your lawn. But snatching the stone right off the walls of your home? Twice?
Such a crime truly reflects "new depths of brazen cheek," reports The Advocate of Far North, New Zealand, where the heist occurred.
The theft shocked the owners of a waterfront property on Wahapu Peninsula in historic Russell, said the report, quoting local Constable Paul Johnston.
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The Advocate |
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The small pieces of decorative stone were painstakingly removed, and the area was cleaned up afterward, police said. The house had been targeted before.
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Johnston said the couple had come home recently to find a section of stone block missing from the home. The stone had been plastered to the house in a section about 2.7 meters high and 450 mm wide (about 11 feet high by 18 inches wide).
Care and Cleanup
The thieves evidently showed patience. The small, imported stone blocks measured 30mm x 50mm (about one by two inches) and came in various lengths. The cost of the damage and material was not immediately available.
The cladding had been removed carefully and the area cleaned up afterward, Johnston told the newspaper. He said the thieves struck sometime between Feb. 15 and Feb. 18 and may have used a boat to reach and flee the property.
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bnb.co.nz |
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The heist occurred at a waterfront property on the Wahapu Peninsula.
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He speculated that the thieves had used the stone "for a DIY project such as a stone barbecue," the newspaper said.
More surprisingly, the paper reported, the same house had been targeted before. On the first occasion, thieves denuded a stone section that was more than three times larger than that stripped this time, Johnston said.
The homeowners are offering a reward.
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