Well, I’m very sad to report that it finally happened… Our BOL (Bug out location) was burgled! I’ve spent nearly 18 years building and improving bug out preps in this same area and have had zero issues when it came to security. Never even had an indication that anyone had been poking around my place. I guess that had lulled me into a bit of complacency about adding much in the way of security features to our property.

 

   Let me lay this out for you… Mrs. Prepper and I had taken off early on Friday, which allowed to get to the property at about 6:30pm rather than our more typical arrival time of 10:30pm-12:00am. Good thing as it would have been much more of a violation to find the place breached after it was already dark out. Throughout life I’ve only very rarely had anything like this happen, a couple of car prowls but never a burglary. You always hear how it makes you feel violated… It does! It’s a weird feeling to be in your own home, even if it’s just the BOL, after some low down skunk has rummaged through your belongings! Yes, I’m keeping the language on the clean side, actual quotes from the discovery will be kept between the Mrs. and myself.

 

   Anyway, we arrive on the scene and of course everything looks just as we left it… or does it? I pull in and get positioned so we can begin unloading the car for our weekend in paradise… I make a habit out of heading straight into the house as I’m usually under a barrage of bathroom requests. So, I stand at the door and fish out the door key… Key in lock and turn – hmm? Deadbolt spins as if already unlocked??? Key in door handle and handle spins? This is where your mind does the “This does not compute” thing… See I’m anal about the doors being locked and frequently make a second trip through the house before departure to double-double check that all windows are closed and locked. It is inconceivable that I inadvertently left the door unlocked – NO WAY, NO HOW – it just would never happen… So, my mind is racing and I push the door open… “*&^*&$^%, we’ve been broken into”!

 

   I waltz right on in as if I owned the place, no thought to the fact my sidearm is sitting in the console of the Jeep? You know, its not as if I’m going to need the gun just going from the car to the house – WRONG! It didn’t even dawn on me that I had dropped the security ball on this end as well… Proceeding into the crime scene without even a thought to the SOB still being there?

 

   That’s when I saw him! Sitting on my couch, eating my food and drinking my beer! As I stand there in MY doorway trying to make sense of the scene before me, Mrs. Prepper pushes right past me… I barely even noticed that she had my Glock in her hand, leveled in his direction! I’ve always heard that when your in a high stress situation like this your adrenaline is pumping and you won’t even hear the gun go off when it’s fired! Well, I can testify I never heard a shot. I was shocked in disbelief as I watched her fire continuously until the slide eventually caught after the 15th round. When my mind was able to refocus I swear she was screaming at pulp boy about not taking off his freaking shoes in her house!

 

   OK OK, you’re right – this isn’t how it happened at all! For one thing I don’t drink and therefore he wouldn’t be drinking my beer. Secondly, Mrs. Prepper wouldn’t shoot someone 15 times for a shoe violation but after she got done moaning and groaning  at him about her new carpet, he might wish she had! Sadly though the part about me walking in completely unarmed is true! What the heck was I thinking? I have done the right thing in the past and answered an attempted home invasion at a relatives house – gun in hand – but not this time? For shame!

 

   So, I walk on in and find stuff strewn about, cabinets all open and contents rummaged. Thankfully the PERP was already gone. I’m fully aware that most of you reading this would have preferred he was there and given you the chance to practice your Dirty Harry voice – “Do you feel lucky – Punk?”  That was my first inclination too after my sanity was regained, as well as my pistol! A disappointment all the way around!

 

   This appeared to be nothing more than a typical home burglary. TV gone, ripped right off the wall. Small electronics were selectively taken, some food and soda’s, a few kitchen items, 2 pairs of women’s hiking boots and the strangest thing was MY underwear? While the underwear in question was clean and on the new side, still? Oh yeah, the sucker took the better part of a Costco sized package of TP? I was tempted to go looking for any neighbors that might have gotten TP’d in the last few days…

 

   The entry was made via the back bedroom window. This would be on the far side of the house and furthest from the driveway… This part makes sense as the chances of discovery would be a neighbor happening by on a walk or random inspection as a courtesy to us. However, the burglar had to jump a bit to get in that window and there were several items within easy reach he could have used to boost himself up but didn’t? Also strange were the items not taken from the house… A pair of Kenwood MURS radios, complete with chargers sitting on the kitchen counter? An 18volt DeWalt Flashlight right inside the back door? Binoculars, a LARGE Maglight beside the bed? In my opinion this is strange, he takes my clean but used underwear and not these other items? Strange?

 

   Anyway, we made the standard police report but figured that it wasn’t enough value to bother the insurance company over! The cop confirmed what I already thought from my personal experience, we weren’t in a high crime area. The officer said he couldn’t remember the last time there was a burglery out in my area of the county…? That was good news, I guess! A trip to the hardware store for some additional beefing up of the window security was about all we could do? Most of the truly valuable items were stored inside the cargo containers, thankfully the locks didn’t show any signs of attempted forcing.

 

   I guess we were pretty lucky that the scum didn’t break any windows or take a dump in the middle of the kitchen floor! All the stolen items are replaceable but the nagging feeling that will accompany our arrivals for the for-seeable future will linger on! All the stuff I’ve read on the various blogs and forums I haunt always warn about the security of the rural retreat, well take it from me the stories are true… Don’t get  complacent about your security and if you begin a new retreat or BOL project, keep the security end game in mind as you go! Things are easily fixed today but in the near future, who knows? That TP the guy stole might end up being worth its weight in gold?

 

 

Submitted for your consideration,

 

Prepper