Geri B

Very sad and disheartening situation. I read the news article, saw the pics and watched his video.... My only observation of concern - this vehicle-trailer was parked on a frontage road? Did this hotel not have a secure parking area? Right along side an expressway..... That trailer is probably in another state by now....or abandoned on a rural road.... It will be interesting to see if it's ever recovered, not to mention contents. I know insurance $$$ cannot replace actual contents( quilts), but hopefully can help recoup the cost of supplies lost.....

quilttiger

Such sad news for Jamie Wallen....I hope the trailer and contents are recovered as soon as possible!

BETTY62

What sad news. May the thief be caught.

Gerbie

Can you tell us the color of the trailer? I have a brother and a niece who live in Houston, and I just emailed them the ifo you have on this thread with lic. number and name of your business. Perhaps they might accidently see it when they are on their way to work or going to the stores. Can't have too many eyes looking in a situation like this. I have not been to Houston since they moved there so I don't know where their house is in relation to the quilt show. I sure hope you get it and all contents back. So sad that this country has come to this, such sorry low lives to steal because they are so lazy and too sorry to make a living and buy their own.

feline fanatic

Jamie has managed to get a few pictures up on his FB page of some of the quilts that were in the trailer (as well as photos of the trailer and where it was parked at the hotel). https://www.facebook.com/jamie.wallen.165

Amazing the hotel can't figure out how to access their security?!?! What the heck. Add that to the list of questions I will ask from now on when traveling and staying in hotels. What level of parking area security do you have and do you have working surveillance and know how to access it in the event of theft? Who would ever think to ask such a thing?

What a devastating blow this is to him. There is a very real possibility that this could destroy his business, they lost that much. And chances of every single one of the quilts in the trailer having an appraisal are slim to none. There is no way insurance will cover the losses. Please everyone, lets pray that the contents are found and recovered.

Snooze2978

Believe me, a trailer hitch lock is kid's play to some of these criminals. They're a master at unlocking it. The more they show on TV how these criminals can do their trade the more new criminals will try it. They need to stop showing these things on TV and how the police come up with new techniques how to solve it cause that just shows the criminals how to get around it. I know as I worked as a CSI for 19 years down in Florida.

Also another vendor lost her trailer in Houston back in either 2011 or 2012 in a secured fenced in area with security guards. Now you ask how can that be? Well, its fairly easy, they will watch the steps the guards take, wait for them to change shifts or go on their rounds or even entice them with money. Money talks believe me in this day and age when the economy is so bad.

If they do find the trailer, it will either be stripped and/or the items inside tossed in some field or wooded area. I doubt if they will try to sell them as the quilts will be identifiable. Its sad what this world is coming to.

Dina

I keep checking this thread, hoping for good news. I don't even know what to say....I hope they catch the guys, I hope everything is still in the trailer, I hope the hotel gets their act together, I hope Jamie can survive this, I hope everything turns out okay, I hope the bad guys go to jail, .....etc.

My sister is on the way to the Quilt Show today. She said she would keep her eyes out. It's a 6-8 hour drive there from here. Maybe she will see something. Maybe she will park by the trailer at a McDonald's stop. Unlikely, I know, but every little bit helps.

Dina

Geri B

Since the hotel cannot access its surveillance videos, that to me means not a "3 star" hotel........neither here nor there now...but I will certainly keep this incident in mind when traveling. If there was an alarm on the vehicle would it have been triggered by this invasion? - just thinking...again, hindsight.

and like posted...thieves are not all snatch and run.......trucks are hijacked, cars stolen, house and stores broken into on a daily basis all over the world. Not a new activity, history attests to that, but more sophisticated now as protection against it is more intense, but not foolproof, and as always too, money is a great temptation to some.........

tessagin

I agree. We never stop at a hotel on a feeder road. Too easy for a criminal to be on down the road usually at a high rate of speed. Being in Houston can get you to Louisiana in no time on a feeder road (exit). I locked myself out of my apartment once. Neighbor across the hall showed me how to get in with a cardboard top on a box of detergent. 2 weeks later guess who we found out broke into 4 apartments on our floor. One guy caught him with his toddler daughter's piggy bank. beat the crap out of him. Hate when they show how to hack. I've shared this sad tail of Jamie's all over different forums

feline fanatic

Yes but I know when I am travelling on the road in or near a big city, I don't want to get lost, so I do utilize hotels right off the interstate. My DH and I are usually on our motorcycles and by the time we roll into a hotel, we are tired and hungry and have been on the road for at least 12 hours. Also when a big convention is nearby (like quilt Market) your choices are very limited. We can "arm chair quarterback" the situation ad-nauseum to no avail. I just hope the contents are recovered. If the thieves are caught and punished that would be a huge bonus but right now I just want Jamie and his clients to get their stuff back. These items have little to no value to a thief. They are difficult if not impossible to fence and of no value to anyone but quilters.