BEWARE! The Stealth Art Thieves
February 1st, 2007 by FineArtRegistry
A lesson in keeping records and photos of antiques and collectibles.
This could never happen to me. These events only happen to others that haven’t properly secured their valuables. You best think again. An article, Wellesley House Antiques penned by David Phillips, aptly portrays an incident that made national headlines recently. Vultures lurking in the dark of night to pounce on their unsuspecting prey, stealthily removed the valuables of Andrew and Kelly Vogel while they slept peacefully in their hotel room.
The Vogels, owners of Wellesley House antiques had just completed a show, the Zita Waters-Bell Winters Fair, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Their plan was to rest, return home for a short stay and head for the next show in Nashville, Tennessee, never having the slightest notion how the next morning their entire world would be turned upside down. Their trailer filled with priceless antiques was gone. Under the eye of security cameras in the hotel parking lot, thieves quietly towed away their storehouse.
The antique business has been the Vogels’ entrepreneurial venture for many years. They buy and sell the higher priced antiques mostly purchased from the United Kingdom. They buy the items that are in good condition and need no restoration and have them flown to the U.S. They were of the most excellent quality, and Andrew and Kelly neatly pack their 16’x7’x 9’ covered cargo trailer and travel the country to display their wares at the best antique shows.
Were there spies lurking at the show, criminal eyes that scanned their irreplaceable and valuable treasures? It would seem so. The cargo trailer was found several blocks away. The thieves, after not being able to break the locks on the trailer, used a grinding wheel to enter it and then took only specific items, as if they were going to the store with a shopping list.
After being questioned for hours by the local police, the Vogels contacted GoAntiques website to report the loss. Theresa Franks, CEO of Fine Art Registry™ found the posted report of theft and immediately got in touch with the administrator of the website to offer support. The FBI got involved with the investigation.
Insurance has been a very disappointing experience for Andrew and Kelly. The high cost of full coverage and the lack thereof, have left the Vogels’ claim very short of the actual loss suffered.
The author of this disturbing story will take you through the nightmare of what happened and also instructs us with an extremely valuable lesson on how to avoid such astronomical losses. Read the in depth story at www.FineArtRegistry.com.
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