By Russell Bennett
A RECENT spate of thefts from cars in Mount Evelyn has continued with the callous theft of a 19-year-old woman’s holiday photos.
Chloe Lane recently returned from a holiday with friends to picturesque Vanuatu.
She took more than 450 photos of her friends experiencing the local culture and scenery with island natives.
Ms Lane fears those shots are lost forever after thieves broke into her bright blue Mitsubishi Mirage, which was parked outside her Bourke Street home late last Monday.
“My cousin left for work and on the way out of the driveway, she noticed a window of my car had been smashed,” Ms Lane said.
“At first I thought only my TomTom (GPS system) had been stolen because the window had been smashed and it was just inside, so it would have been the easiest to grab.
“I wasn’t too shattered, because I could replace that.
“I was just so annoyed that someone had done it.”
Ms Lane realised 15 minutes later that her handbag and backpack were also in the car.
“I thought it was only my camera in my handbag,” she said.
“I thought ‘oh well, at least the camera card wasn’t in it’ but then I realised my backpack and my overnight bag were taken as well, which had everything from dirty clothes to slippers.
“My underwear was in there and that’s mega creepy that someone would have those. It’s just very disturbing.”
Ms Lane said the photos from her overseas escape were on the camera card in her backpack.
“The card is really the only thing I want back,” she said.
The burglary of Ms Lane’s car came after a period from 25 September to 25 October in which four other cars in the local area were broken into.
Chairman of the Mount Evelyn Neighbourhood Watch Jim Humphries acknowledged there had been an increase in theft from motorcars. “It only takes seconds to steal from them,” he said.
“It is a real concern. “The key is to not let anyone see anything in your car. Just don’t leave anything in sight.”
Acting Sergeant Ross Bingley from Lilydale Criminal Investigation Unit said police were “forever warning people to take their valuables inside.”
“The sound of shattering glass often isn’t very loud, so it can be very hard to hear a break-in happening. Thefts from cars are a widespread problem, which won’t stop if people continue to leave valuables in their cars.”
Ms Lane said she was prepared to offer a reward for the return of the card.
“Obviously, if anything else is returned with it, that would be awesome, but the photos are my main priority.
“It’s a very specific type of card that wouldn’t even fit in most cameras. It’d be useless to whoever stole it.
“If they can just put it in our letterbox, they don’t have to tell us who they are.
“I won’t press charges if they return it.”
