Found a phone in my garden - isolated property - shit scared

[ScarredBunny]

Name changed for this - Sorry if this seem trivial, I know people are dealing with far bigger things at the moment.

I found a phone lying on the ground, about 5 yards from my house.

We live in an isolated property about a mile away from the first road. We have not have any visitors , maintenance people for many weeks (obviously). Delivery drivers, yes, but they would not have any reason to go to this part of the garden/couldn't access it during daytime without us seeing something.
At first I assumed it belonged to one of us, but no!
Phoned the police, have a ref./case number, etc. but they're busy and will get back to us when they can.
The police said to take the phone indoors and wait for their call/visit.

I am worried that the next visit is going to be from whomever the phone belongs to.
The phone is dead as a dodo but I assume it still can be found?

What should do?

@sergeilavrov - Just re-read your post, thank you again for so much details. Very interesting, I've saved it fo reference. You say Always, always, always check the back seat before getting in your car.
Could you expand on that please? Do you know where I can find more of the type of information you gave? Thank you!

DanFmDorking the designs are brilliant!!!

Loving the t-shirts too ScarredBunny 😁

Yes, I still jump out of my skin when I see them, but it’s always, always been a fox.
We now have security lights for the entire perimeter of the garden so it does feel better.
My dog would loose a stand off with a butterfly, he’s a real softie. I think he’s braver inside the house than in the garden.
I’m actually glad you didn’t investigate the dark corner any further. Phew!
From what we pieced together after the break in, these people were watching waiting for us to go to bed, that’s what annoyed me most, to think I was out in the garden last thing whilst I let the dog out before going to sleep and someone was watching us and they could also see inside part of the downstairs if they would have been watching from above the wall throughout the entire evening. And it turns out they’ve been in the garden the night before doing a rekkie.
It really was simply because the dog raised the alarm that we went to investigate. Actually ignored the dog first on the basis that he might be barking at a fox but he was barking differently than usual. Bastards! Anyway lesson learned and luckily they dropped everything they took whilst escaping.

It was an iPhone 8 which was the latest model back then, no cover so slippery. I remember she did get a replacement and, not long after, the iphone 10 came out and we were talking about it that if it happened a bit later at least she could have upgraded.

I don’t understand how these people loose their phones left, right and centre hopping around people’s gardens. I’m not in the habit of prowling around at night, but whenever I go out walking without a bag I always make sure my phone is secure in a zipped pocket. Although if it’s a burglar, it’s likely to be a stolen phone so there’s no monetary loss for them and maybe they don’t use it to keep information like most of us do (kids’ photos, phone book, diary, work stuff etc).

You sound a bit more upbeat which is great I know the police are busy but don't think it would hurt to give them a call and ask if they've made any headway with the phone? I personally would probably have them tormented and likely get myself charged with harassment!
A couple of thorn trees wouldn't go amiss in those dark corners

@DanFmDorking, that book will need a twist in the tale, something like what did the mystery thief/peeping tom/tourist saw through the window that made them run leaving their phone behind and why no body he has never been found.

(Sorry op, couldn’t resist it, but may add to the sales )

The compact & bijou holiday cottage will wash its own face from day one ; the suckers, I mean, guests will be the security!

The bit I've added the underlining to is a new phrase to me - love it and plan to plagiarise it ruthlessly

(Have to admit I started following this thread in the hope AvalancheKit would return and reprise her weirdness. Presumably, that's not going to happen...)

I think it's either a prospective burglar casing the joint or a peeping Tom.

I think extra security and cctv sounds a good idea.

In the late seventies we had a peeping Tom perving on my mum. We found male dirty pants in the garden. Her lingerie went missing from the washing line and plants in the garden and the wall were damaged. We'd heard someone in the garden several times but never saw anything. My dad came back from working overseas and it stopped. There was a man two houses away who had been spoken to by the police about flashing at teenage girls. We suspected him

@ScarredBunny No problem, happy to help more. If someone is observing the house, that could mean two different things: they’re interested in the property, or they’re interested in the people. The latter is more dangerous, and tends to be more sophisticated. All car alarms and locks can be bypassed, no matter how good people claim them to be. Even so, keep your car locked to prevent facilitating easy entry even if you’re just stepping away for a few moments. One way to initiate control over a person is to break in and hide in the foot well immediately behind the driver seat, wait until driving has begun and reached a non built up area, and pull the seatbelt back or reach around the driver to gain control. This would be a serious, difficult and scary situation. You can avoid this simply by reversing into your drive, meaning you have to pass the back seats to get into the car and any potential assailant has to get closer to the house to get entry, and teaching yourself to just glance into the back windows and quickly scan for any evidence of presence. Think inexplicably fogged up windows, trash moved, or of course a person of interest. Sounds silly, but we had this issue working in Lebanon a number of times.

I work in a field with some crossover to security, but aside from seeking out a consultant I’m not sure. I’d hope the police would offer similar advice, but I’ll do some digging and see where people can access this info. In the meantime, I’m happy to answer questions as best I can if it helps.

Not sure if this has already been considered, but perhaps the phone was one of those items which just disappears, never to be seen again and fell through a black hole into your garden?

Hi All,
My dog was looking UP at something whilst barking towards that dark corner, sort of head high, taller than me. He was not looking down or at his own level like he would have done for an animal.

Replying to @Branster last night, I sort of 'went back' there and ping, that memory and its significance clicked together; 1/the dog was looking up, 2/so not an animal. There's nothing to perch on on that corner, smooth brick walls.
Sorry if it reads like drip drip - it's really not.

It means it was not an animal after all, but probably a person, right? Opinions please? Any dog people? Thank you!

(not so)Brief recap for those who can be bothered to still think about my case :
The night before I found the phone, I left the dog out before going up to bed. (I think was around 1.30am, might have been later)

• As soon as he stepped outside , dog started running towards something and barking, I didn't look to see what.
• The barking goes on and on, it could be anything, bird rabbit, fox, etc.
• I give it a few moments, make a hot drink etc.
• The barking is really loud and sustained, this has gone on for long enough, I turn the outdoor lights on and go outside to get the dog.
• He doesn't respond to me at all, doesn't let me drag him from his spot.
• I notice a big scarf moving in the wind on the washing line, its shadow moving right next to the dark corner; I go, take it down, show it to the dog so he sees it's okay.
• Dog totally ignores me, carries on staring, barking, I leave him to it, go back inside, turn outdoors lights off, bed. A while later DH goes to open the backdoor to the Dog wanting to be let in.}

Talking with DH, we now think: someone was on the grass, with their phone - I turn the light on in the kitchen, they move from that now lit up spot of grass, leaving their phone behind - they get cornered in the dark corner by the dog - (it means they were in that dark corner when I went outside) - they manage to get away from the dog after a while - dog's job done, he wants to come inside.

Now I sound more and more like Aunt Ada Doom who '... saw something nasty in the woodshed' and never lets go , any Flora Poste around to sort me out?

anyone interested?

Could support the drone theory?

OP sorry to say, without knowing the details, I thought your dog was barking at a person.

but the person ran away and knows you have a dog so that's good...?

are you going to get any additional security things? I wouldn't for a one off but maybe if it gives you more peace of mind?

That’s so scary OP! Good job you didn’t put two and two together at the time, you might have got yourself into trouble.

Dogs do look towards what they are barking at, unless they bark from below a high window and can’t see what they are barking at scenario. But it could have been something small up on a tree or bush. Not necessarily a taller person than you. Or maybe a tiny person perched up on a branch in the dark corner.
Sorry I couldn’t help myself I have this mental image of a glow in the dark fairy your dog was barking at.

It’s very likely it was a person. Usually they wouldn’t want any confrontation that’s why they ran away. It could be a good for nothing teenager not necessarily a scary looking grown man. Also, now that they know you were all out and about at that ungodly hour they won’t bother coming back.

Did you investigate the dark corner in daylight, was anything worth noting in there?

Your dog did his job even though you abandoned him out there on his own with the bad person on the premises. At least they didn’t steal the dog! 😁

@sergeilavrov - I cannot bear to think about them being interested by someone in the house.
However, wcs, if it was; does the fact that they lost their phone and were unprepared for a dog mean they'd potentially be a less dangerous type of person?
Thank you re.car
I've been checking the back of my car before getting in not all the time but according to situations, for many years. I taught my DCs to do it, DH would never do it. I've been wondering if I wasn't OTT, if it wasn't more of a lore than a threat, as I am not aware there is a contract on our heads it might seem silly, but it's no bother to do and on the off-chance, could save a lot of trouble.
I'd always listen to the advice of someone who has had this issue working in Lebanon a number of times
Thank you for the car explanation and the offer re. where more info can be found, I'd very much appreciate it.

If you have the time and inclination, there has been a poster here, Avalanche-something whose posts where strange and on re-read, extremely creepy; demand for info, prediction, date given.

@Branster - I didn't think it was a person when I left the dog!
The dog didn't come with me when I went close to that corner either so dog and I are even I think
I can't catch this dog if he doesn't want to be caught, and even if you manage to get hold of him he's too strong/ mobile/big to keep hold of. He's never bit any of us but nipped when playing when he was younger; his teeth are so sharp and he has the strongest jaw of any dog I've had so although not impossible with equipment, I don't think he's susceptible to be taken.
That corner is made of two smooth brick walls. There's nowhere to perch - I've just checked again. (There's no fox poo either, but that's gone for me now.)
Absolutely, whoever it was was scarred by the dog (and me perhaps haha) and will think twice before trying again.

@YinMnBlue - wouldn't there be a noise with a drone? Also it was so near the house, would have been likely to touch the walls/crash.

@LilacTree1 - Somehow I was still hoping it was a fox! Sorry, I know this is getting tiresome It's just that imo there's no doubt now it really was a person. Yes, they're scared by the dog and we are getting more security anyway, so it's good.

@ScarredBunny
I’d agree that the loss of the phone and the dog suggest they’re either unsophisticated, it was a particularly late night for the family compared to usual, or it’s an early stage of surveillance. I wouldn’t necessarily assume the person left after the dog barked, possible that the person remained all the time, eventually either able to give the dog a treat/stayed still enough the dog felt it had done his duty and wondered off. It’s not the nicest thing to consider, but I’d keep all options on the table. Because the phone in question doesn’t have night mode, I’d assume it was being used to message someone else or as a recording device. A light would be too obvious and by your description, Insufficiently precise and bright to examine your property.

There doesn’t seem to be much online. In some sense, good, because that can be used by criminals - but also not very helpful for people seeking to protect themselves. I've found a couple of bits and pieces.

(1) Assailants interested in you

www.itstactical.com/intellicom/physical-security/psd-concepts-introduction-and-daily-routes/

www.bigmarker.com/t4survival/Home-Invasion-Preparedness?utm_bmcr_source=Facebook

This has a bunch of pages, all of which are quite informative and along the lines of what is done professionally. Ignore the overblown terms, they just want to seem ‘cool’. There are some webinars out there too, go for ones led by Israelis - they are the best in the business.

(2) Assailants interested in the home

www.homeadvisor.com/r/securing-your-home-from-burglary/

www.familyhandyman.com/home-security/20-secret-hiding-places/

Ignore advice to keep dog bowls in the garden. That opens up opportunities to do harm to your dog. Think creatively about hiding valuables, I developed my own set of hiding places as a teenager and my parents never worked them out. We just hope our children are less devious.

A brief word on motion detection if people are thinking about some bigger investment: Think of your garden as a multilayered security environment: dark corners at the very end, an intruder is likely to be standing. Set motion detection lights/alarms to go off at movement within a specific height range. As an intruder gets close to the house, they’re likely to have limited approach options to avoid detection. They’ll keep low, in the shadows, and away from the open. Use their strategic mandates to your advantage, their lack of choice gives you solid ground to plan your devices. This goes back to what I was saying about dictating the path of an intruder in terms of where they break in and the route they take in the house, using decoys, taking control is also good for your mental health after such an interaction.

Finally, act now. Right now, you have all the motivation you need to get on top of security. If you wait, these feelings will dampen and security becomes something that can be put off until nicer weather, next weekend etc.

I do miss my boys for security, but I did forget to regale you all with the tale of the noisy gate and the delivery guy...

I missed the DG knocking at the front, and he had gone to the back gate...it was summer and the porch door, and kitchen door were all open, dogboys were baying like hounds of hell already from the knock at the front, they heard the back gate, it drags over the step and bowled by me to Get There First.

...well the older one did, he was always Head of Security with the younger one taking the role of Personal Close Protection

Only as I get to the kitchen I see DG walking back through the courtyard having dropped the parcel by the inner kitchen door where the older dog is now standing firmly, still barking like billy-oh while obviously waiting and looking for me to catch up and Do Something.

As he heard the gate close he ran out and barked out the catflap.

So all noise and no actual action! :o

maybe they threw the phone to distract the dog and make their escape??

@sergeilavrov - Thank you SO much!

I know the police are busy but don't think it would hurt to give them a call and ask if they've made any headway with the phone?

Oh yes please I keep popping back here for an update.

Could support the drone theory?

I don’t think that’s very likely these days people need their phone to control the drone.

Is there any evidence of footprints in the ‘dark corner’?

Oh god I want an answe

Laurie’ theory is very interesting about throwing the phone at or to distract the dog.

I love everyone’s stories about how brave these dogs are but when push comes to shove they don’t necessarily do anything dramatic.

sergeilavrov I wouldn’t dream of going to Lebanon without taking you with me. Very sound advice about guiding potential intruders. Thank you for sharing all this with us. Checking the back of the car is one of those weird things I find myself doing as a driver and passenger from watching too many films but I never told anyone in case they think I’m loosing the plot.

OP be brave and call the police. We want to hear about any updates. If you feel like you are wasting their time, fear not, you can always say you want to ask for advice on home security. That is not wasting their time. It’s saving them time in the future.

@branster
You’d be surprised what your dog is capable off, just be glad they haven’t had to.
I’ve been taken aback at mine over the years, quiet laid back and become very protective in an instant.