Story Archive

Nothing Unusual to See Here

The Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office says a man was captured on surveillance video trying to break into Lakeland Cold Storage. The man was carrying a 5-gallon bucket and wearing ...absolutely nothing. The man stole a company truck, and a black-and-white checkered swan statue worth $25,000. The truck was recovered and a suspect, Ronald Thompson, 47, was arrested on grand theft charges. But he wouldn’t give up the swan’s location, or explain his choice of attire during the caper. A few days later, Kelly Arnold, 32, spotted the swan while fishing with a friend in a pond less than a mile from the storage facility. He told his mother, Maria Burlingame, who had seen a news report on the theft, and called the authorities. “Yeah, you don’t find that every day for sure,” she said. “Why would you do something like that? It’s stupid.” (MS/WESH Orlando, WFLA Tampa) ...In Florida, doing it because it’s stupid is reason enough.