Four tourists who had items stolen while they were snorkeling were so grateful to the V.I. Police Department for recovering their stolen property that they are thinking of moving to the islands, according to the VIPD.
Police said that about 1:30 p.m. Friday, four tourists visiting from Connecticut went to Point Udall to go snorkeling and left their personal belongings including three cell phones on a beach towel. When the couples returned they noticed their belongings were out of order and the phones were gone.
The two couples went to the Marshall Command Police Precinct to file a report and get some assistance. After filing the report, one of the tourists and an officer logged onto a tracking website and started a GPS track on the phones. The track showed that the cell phones were somewhere in the Frederiksted town area.
The tourist stayed at the precinct with one officer, tracking the signal, while two other officers traveled to Frederiksted, getting updated tracking information over the radio.
When they found area of the signal, the officer at Marshall Command sent a signal to the phones that made them make a "distinguish noise," a signal loud enough that it could be heard from nearby. The officers was heard the noise coming from a large garbage recycling bin on the northern side of Walter I.M. Hodge Housing Community. One of the officers jumped into the bin to search while the other stood outside to stand guard.
After a thorough search they retrieved a small gray and blue backpack that had three cell phones in it. Those phones were positively identified by the tourist couples.
According to police, the couples were extremely grateful for the officers’ quick thinking and computer savvy, turning the negative experience into a positive one.
The couples told police they will return to the U.S. Virgin Islands and might even purchase property here St. Croix.
