Stolen pipes

[Tartan Hiker]

Son came home last night and now I have all the details about the robbery. It did not occur at the games, which is a great relief to us all. The van was parked at the hotel. It and 10 other vehicles were hit. There was a witness who at least saw "three guys in a black van" (no plate numbers or anything more helpful). The same hotel had a number of vehicles hit the night before. Hotel has no security measures at all, apparently, so that is a potential avenue for a suit. With so many break-ins hopefully the Orlando PD will take this seriously and devote some effort toward solving the case.

[Father Bill]

I'm still horrified and disgusted at this turn of events and wish you all good fortune in the safe return of your property.

[Mark R]

Bill, Really sorry to read this news. Will also try to monitor ebay and the like to see if they show up. The local pawn shops are a likely source for them to try and get a return on the things taken. Would be good to contact someone who helped organize and run the event who is from the area to make a flyer to hand out to the local pawn shops. Networking is your best chance at this point IMO.

As someone who vends at many highland games and Celtic festivals, can tell you I have never had anything stolen from my vendor's tent or my vehicle. My wife and son play music and we often have some instruments with us. While it is a pain, we always carry them to our room as they mean too much as your son's pipes do to him. Hopefully this ends up well for you.

I do know others who have had similar experiences as your son. Without exception, the thefts have always occurred at the hotel parking lots. Have yet to hear about similar break-ins at a games or festival.

Have made it a habit to leave as little as possible in my vehicle in hotel lots. The cargo vans and box trucks are prime targets for this type of thief. They know when events are in town, the know where the participants are likely to stay, and they know what type of vehicles to look for.

A fellow vendor had his truck stolen from a hotel, in it almost 50K worth of leather goods and tools. Never recovered as they torched the truck. Thankfully insurance did cover most of the losses.

[creagdhubh]

Insurance might be able to help, but...

I was going to ask if they were insured. My good mate, professional piper and piping instructor, P/M Matt Pantaleoni of St. Louis, has always insisted that his band, and students that have progressed to the full set of pipes, have their instruments insured. You never know when these unfortunate incidences may occur.

Sorry to hear of this and best of luck mate,

[MacMillans son]

Sorry to hear about the lad's loss, my heart goes out to him. I had a vehicle break in last summer at a trailhead while backpacking. It was a huge nuisance, and some financial loss, but nothing we were emotionally attached to like your boys pipes.

Just a note to others, your auto insurance doesn't typically cover contents of the vehicle. Those items are usually covered under homeowners insurance, or renters insurance if you aren't a home owner. Check your policies to be sure of what, and how much.

Best of luck in your recovery efforts T.H.!

[BatlRatl]

From what I gather, the hotel (Hilton) claims no responsibility of liability for the burglaries, even though they supposedly have security on their premises (btw, that disclamer sign in the parking lot does not relieve hotels of liability). I'm hoping that the promoters and flascot.com will be looking into a new host hotel for the 2013 games.
I offer my friends my sympathy (and a dram) for their loss.

[Woodsman]

The day the music died...

[Donnachaidh Drumair]

I have nothing to add but my sympathies. This is horrific. I hope for the best.

[Alan H]

Well, this sucks. SUCKS.

Last year at the Dixon Games, someone hammered the lock off the front gate at some hour in the early morning, drove in a van and emptied out two vendors tents. Cleaned them out.

It happens. But it still SUCKS. I hope he gets them back.

[Highlander31]

From what I gather, the hotel (Hilton) claims no responsibility of liability for the burglaries, even though they supposedly have security on their premises (btw, that disclamer sign in the parking lot does not relieve hotels of liability)....

Unfortunately, for the victims, there is a limit to the responsibility of the hotel. I spent 35 years in the security field. More than half of my career involved running protection operations for large organizations in both the domestic and International arenas. Most people do not understand how a determined individual(s) can circumvent or otherwise eliminate the obstacles security presents to them. Courts have ruled companies can not be expected to have security personnel everywhere on a site at all times (just as they have ruled the police are responsible only for the corporate safety of a city and not the individual's personal safety.) Since they are not a stock set of pipes, it will limit their ability to sell them. Allowing recovery efforts to be focused on the more likely areas where they might turn up.

As an amateur piper, I understand his loss, and I hope he has them returned soon.