The saga of the stolen iphone

This past Sunday, Craig, Mackenzie and I were spending the day like so many other Sundays. We went to visit family in the AM, were going to hit Target in the afternoon and then off for a long overdue play date with Adrianna.

2:00 PM - We arrive at Target (the great retail wonderland) and agree that we need to get in and out in under an hour. For my family, that is a feat indeed. Each department offers an assortment of items that we never needed until we set eyes on them. We replenished school supplies, bought some much-needed undergarments for my weed, um I mean 6 year old. We typically browse the entire store aisle by aisle as we discover all of the opportunities to fill up the trunk.

2:30 - We are running out of time and need to hurry. Our play date is schedule for 4:00 in order for the kids to have their fun before we have to feed them dinner and do the usual Sunday night routine.

2:58 - Time to meet up, get serious, and get through the food aisles. Craig calls my iphone, Kenzie answers, and we meet up right near the Boots cosmetic display. The call is short, and we agree that they are going to pick out some ice cream while I go through the ladies clothing department to find more treasures that I won't be able to pass up. It is here that Kenzie has her ADD moment and makes the crucial mistake.

2:59 - Kenzie sees a display of help-yourself body butters, complete with an inviting spoon to use with it. She puts the phone down and tries some body butter. Daddy calls her to get ice cream and she runs off.

3:07 - Now we really need to get going. We all meet up again, and I ask Craig for my phone back. He looks at me like I am crazy. We both look at Mackenzie and ask her where she put my phone. In the next ten minutes, the answers go from "I gave it to Mommy" to "I gave it to Daddy" to "I put it in the shopping cart." After checking my pocketbook four times, Craig's pockets three times and emptying the shopping cart twice, we realize we need to look elsewhere. First, I go to customer service, where the useless clerks offer me a scrap of paper to write down Craig's number in the event that the phone turns up.

3:15 - Craig is in full blown ADD mode, and he can't remember what happened in what order and is proposing all sorts of crazy scenarios about where the phone can be. He checks the ice cream freezers, the shelves, the floors, and his pockets again.

3:30 - I go to customer service again. They can't understand why I might want to offer them my home number and my last name. I go back to the Boots cosmetic department. I am convinced that this is where she left the phone, and I stand there crying, hoping my phone will magically reappear. Why am I crying? Because the last and the only good pictures we had of Emma were on that phone. So were some pictures of our vacation to Disney. I was sobbing over the thought of losing our memories.

4:00 - Craig finally convinces me to leave my post and leave the store. He pays for the merchandise while I run around the entire parking lot in 9 degree weather, completely without any operable brains. I couldn't find the car, and I was mourning the loss of Emma's pictures. Poor Mackenzie asks me "Mommy, am I grounded?" And, oh, we weren't wearing coats. I don't know why.

On the way home, we stop at the AT&T store to replace the phone, when one of us suggests that we ask Target to check the surveillance video. Lo and behold, they call back an hour later and tell us that they got the whole thing on video and they see that the phone was taken by a female. We had the police come over that evening. Despite the video, they tell us not to get our hopes up. I am getting used to the fact that I have lost my Emma pictures. Let's not forget that the police officer also very helpfully advised me to "keep my phone on my person at all times." Duh. Great idea.

Monday morning, I got to work early and decided to do some sleuthing. I found a cracked iphone for sale in Suffolk County and convinced Craig that it was mine. He went back and forth under an assumed name with the seller all morning, and we decided that THIS IS IT. He set up a sting with the police. I Google the kid he is going to "buy" the phone from, I decide the kid is a punk, and I can't wait to have my justice. The police were great and involved, and they surrounded the kid in a parking lot to have him arrested. Only, it isn't my phone. I felt so AWFUL. Poor kid. I think we traumatized him.

At least now, however, the police know we mean business. They went back to the surveillance videos and found that the idiot, I mean girl, went to a checkout counter after stealing my phone and made a purchase by credit card. Now, we've got her. They go to her house, leave a message with her Dad and finally this morning, she calls back. She admits to having the phone, but insists she found it and had every intention of giving it back.

Yeah right. She walked past customer service, past security, out of the store, took out the SIM card, removed the cover, and deleted all of the data stored in the phone. She did not answer any of our calls, didn't think to text or call any of the contacts in the phone. But, she was going to return it.

So, the police retrieved the phone, met up with Craig to give it to him, and are going to press charges against the girl. I still don't have my pictures of dear sweet Emma. I still lost family photos, and I lost a bunch of contacts.

I am going to channel my anger in doing my best to get this girl to see that her actions hurt others. I can only hope that I raise my child to be better than that. I am so sad about what it says about today's youth. According to the surveillance video, it was exactly three minutes between the time the phone was put down and the phone was stolen. How can it be worth the risks to do something so foolish? And, how could she look a police officer in the eyes and lie? I am so sad over this whole thing.

But, on the other hand, I am so incredibly impressed with the police officers who helped get my phone back. I am thrilled and even shocked at the level of cooperation by Target's security department. And, my husband, most of all, put so much effort into this over the past few days. He is my hero and I love him up to the sky.

Emma, we will always miss you. I wish I had more pictures of you, but we had almost ten years of memories. We love you.

And, to the police and to Target, thank you. You far exceeded my expectations, and I couldn't have asked for more.

And, to Mackenzie, you are not grounded. You got your ADD from your dear, sweet Dad. I love you both.