Valuables left in care with relatives in locked box and now valuables missing with no evidence of break into the property

[j1441]

Can I involve the police? I did leave it in the care of the relatives. Do I have rights? I feel they may have taken them.

 

[Just Blue]

Can I involve the police? I did leave it in the care of the relatives. Do I have rights? I feel they may have taken them.

What state?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

When you leave something in the possession of another for safekeeping a bailment is created. The failure of the other party is then a civil, not criminal, issue in most cases. In other words, you sue them for the value of the item. What state you are in and the specifics of the case will decide if you would be successful in such a suit.

 

[Zigner]

Kind of like the guy whose car is stolen who then files an insurance claim stating that several pieces of fancy jewelry, two high-end laptops and the Mona Lisa were all in the trunk.

 

[quincy]

This is exactly why I stopped carrying the Mona Lisa in my car!

 

[justalayman]

So, why would you leave valuables in your car if you relinquished possession of your car?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

So, why would you leave valuables in your car if you relinquished possession of your car?

There were no cars involved in the OPs post.

 

[quincy]

There were no cars involved in the OPs post.

I think Zigner and I might have caused some confusion with our posts.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I think Zigner and I might have caused some confusion with our posts.

I know you did.

 

[Zigner]

I think Zigner and I might have caused some confusion with our posts.

Only once the original post scrolled out of view on the screen.

 

[quincy]

Only once the original post scrolled out of view on the screen.

I am posting from a cell phone. Almost everything is scrolled out of view - except, interestingly, an ad for Sotheby's Institute of Art's "two week course for teens." Someone (looking at you here, Google) picked up on the Mona Lisa reference.

 

[justalayman]

Only once the original post scrolled out of view on the screen.

But surely you realize I put more value and trust in your posts than any new poster out there.


So let me try again


Is the entire box missing it just the valuables? Did the holder have the key/combination to the lockbox?

Did you permit them to access the contents?


Why were they holding the lockbox for you?

 

[Zigner]

But surely you realize I put more value and trust in your posts than any new poster out there.


So let me try again


Is the entire box missing it just the valuables? Did the holder have the key/combination to the lockbox?

Did you permit them to access the contents?


Why were they holding the lockbox for you?

It's not my thread.

To recap:

The OP says he left a locked box with valuable contents at a relative's house. When he later retrieved said box, the valuable contents were missing, even though there were no signs of tampering.

I later commented that this was kind of like the guy whose car is stolen and later claims to the insurance to have had a veritable treasure trove in the trunk of the car. In other words, how does the OP expect to prove that anything valuable was in the box to begin with?


I do apologize for causing the detour.

 

[justalayman]

It's not my thread.

To recap:

The OP says he left a locked box with valuable contents at a relative's house. When he later retrieved said box, the valuable contents were missing, even though there were no signs of tampering.

I later commented that this was kind of like the guy whose car is stolen and later claims to the insurance to have had a veritable treasure trove in the trunk of the car. In other words, how does the OP expect to prove that anything valuable was in the box to begin with?


I do apologize for causing the detour.

I know it’s not your thread zigner. That was a bit of humor. Nobody said I was Robin Williams.


So while one of my questions was answered, maybe op can answer the rest.

 

[quincy]

To answer one question asked by j1441 that has not yet been addressed:

Yes, You can "involve" the police if items belonging to you are stolen. You can also report the theft to your insurer.

But, you will need some evidence showing that the items you claim were in the lockbox were actually in the lockbox at the time you left the box in the care of your relatives.