Erin McCandlish was shocked to find her porch barren.
“I came out to water my flowers, and I saw my magazines that were on my front porch across the lawn, And at first, I was thinking ‘Did we have a major windstorm that I missed?’" she says.
McCandlish quickly realized that it was no accident. Her front porch was empty after being filled with wicker furniture.
“I felt very violated and just the fact that this is part of our house, so just the fact that someone was up here.”
She immediately called police and filed a report. When she posted the information on a Clintonville Crime and Blockwatch Facebook page, she learned she was not alone.
“On this street, apparently last week, a few streets down on Foster (Street) as well, someone must have taken furniture from their front porch,” she said.
McCandlish says it is the type of neighborhood where everyone watches out for each other. There are several surveillance cameras mounted on nearby homes and now she's hoping one of those cameras may have, at the very minimum, caught the suspect’s vehicle
Neighbor Jessica Black was recently looking for porch furniture on Craigslist, and she believes criminals are trying to sell the goods online.
“People are posting that they're offering a reward if people can find their stolen porch furniture,” added Black.
Police say these are crimes of opportunity and remind residents to be vigilant.
For McCandlish, she plans to up her security and hopes other residents do the same.