For her 75th birthday, Wanda Beebe’s husband Ralph planned a four-week road trip to visit each place she had ever lived in her lifetime.
The couple traveled from their home in Newberg, Ore., to places as far as Kansas and Texas, taking more than 200 pictures with their digital camera along the way. They captured their memories with photographs of friends and relatives whom they hadn’t seen in years, houses Wanda Beebe had lived in, the damage and destruction from Hurricane Ike, and the dusty, tan- orange- and brick-colored walls of the Grand Canyon.
But when the pair stopped at a McDonald’s in Eugene, they returned to find the window of their car shattered and the camera gone.
“The worst part was losing the pictures of the people,” Ralph Beebe said. “But we have our memories, so we can remember what everything looks like.”
The incident occurred near 28th Avenue and Willamette Street on Oct.14, according to a Eugene Police Department news release.
By the numbers
| 2007 Eugene theft statistics * 5,259 total thefts * 1,885 thefts from a motor vehicle * 1 number of theft incidents occurring every two hours |
Ralph and Wanda Beebe’s situation is just one example of the ongoing property crime problem concerning many Eugene city officials, police officers and community members. In 2007, a property crime was committed every 41 minutes, and a form of theft was committed every two hours, according to EPD crime clock data.
Ralph Beebe said he and Wanda Beebe left the camera lying on the seat, uncovered, without thinking. The cost of replacing his camera and window was about $600, which he said is a lot of money for a retired school teacher (he is a professor emeritus of George Fox University).
“The first misfortune was having to fix the window, which cost $350, and having the $250 camera stolen,” he said. “But even that is not as bad as the loss of the pictures themselves.”
In 2007, a total of 5,259 incidents of theft (excluding motor vehicle theft) in Eugene were reported, including 1,885 thefts from vehicles, according to EPD annual crime statistics. With 5,259 incidents of theft, an average of about 14 thefts are committed each day.
Despite their experience, the Beebes, who lived in Eugene for 17 years, said they will not negatively stereotype Eugene.
“One bad experience doesn’t ruin the good,” he said. “Eugene is just a great town to live in.”
At a glance
| Help out If the suspect decides to return the camera’s memory card, Ralph and Wanda Beebe said the card can be sent to George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian St., Newberg, Ore., 97132. In your area To see a snapshot of crime around campus this weekend, check out this issue’s crime wrap-up. |
Ralph Beebe also said he and his wife pray that the thief will either return the camera, or at least the memory card so they could have their pictures.
“We have this forlorn little hope that someone will send the memory card,” he said. “But there are worse things that could have happened, so we’ll live with it.”
Ralph Beebe said he and Wanda Beebe do not resent the suspect for his or her actions, but they believe people should think about the consequences committing a crime has on the victim.
“We are Christians, and we believe in forgiveness,” he said. “We will forgive the person who did this because we have made mistakes ourselves.”
If the suspect decides to return the camera’s memory card, Ralph and Wanda Beebe said the card can be sent to George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian St., Newberg, Ore., 97132.
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