Mesquite, NV-

On March 6, 2022, Mesquite, NV resident Stephanie Adams-Foley reported to local social media sites about a porch pirate who stole a sign off their porch. She was not at home and the Ring security camera caught the perpetrator walking up to the door with his hand covering his face and grabbing the sign and fleeing.

The post caused a lot of stirring up of hatred and people being upset as theft of packages has become a daily conversation and occurrence lately throughout our nation.

“It was Friday night (March 4th) in between 9 and 10 pm,” explained Foley, who is the Manager at Bark! Canine Club here in Mesquite.

She explained they were in Laughlin, Nevada at the time when they received notifications from Ring. “We watched the video and were just surprised when we could tell a teenager or similar age took the sign.”

The sign is a yellow warning sign for drivers and people to be cautious of their 16-year-old autistic child. The sign reads, “SLOW. Autistic Child” with a picture of a person icon running.

“We were just flustered because we went through a lot to get that sign and it plays a very essential role in the safety of our child,” said Stephanie.

In hopes of getting her sign back as it was not an easy thing to get purchased and in possession, she went to local social media for help in hopes of identifying the individual porch pirate.

“The sign has been harder to find online to purchase and with the current shipping problems, it took us a long time and a lot of work to get the sign. It is just a pain having to deal with this,” stated Foley.

Part of the frustrations has been the problems that her child has faced with local kids bullying her child because of his condition. They were thinking it might have been possible it was part of the group of teens who have been part of the “bully” crowd.

She hopes this brings awareness to the community of what is going on and to parents that their kids are doing things that are illegal and disrespectful to others. She stated many parents don’t think their children are doing such criminal acts as theft and bullying, but they are. Awareness and education are a must and she hopes that this is accomplished in raising awareness about disabilities and autism.

The story has somewhat a happy ending. The sign was found on Monday morning, March 7th, thrown into her yard. Still, no one has admitted to the theft and no apologies were given. No acceptance of responsibility for the theft has been given.

“We are happy to have the sign back,” said Foley. “Kids need to realize technology is everywhere. Best to be smart and not do such stupid and criminal acts.”

FB post with Ring Video of Porch Pirate incident: http:/https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.adamsfoley/videos/1077463809702238