Theft victim says police didn't do enough

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind.-- On Monday morning, one South Bend woman and her family woke up to their property -- a $20,000 dollar Bobcat and trailer -- stolen. She is withholding her identity for her safety.

“Immediately I went to Facebook and posted pictures and some information about it on Facebook,” the victim said.

Her post was quickly shared close to a thousand times which helped one South Bend man, who doesn’t want his identity shared, recognize the trailer and Bobcat as it was being hauled down the road.

“I called them and had the vehicle stopped, the trailer stopped. There’s even pictures of police on the trailer, and they let them go.”

Security camera footage at the local Stop-and-Go on Miami Street captured the moment the alleged suspects stopped for gas with the trailer attached, just moments before being pulled over.

“It’s a very rare Bobcat and with a custom trailer. Seeing it in the video, it is our trailer. It’s definitely ours. They still had it tied down the way that we left it and everything.”

The victim believes law enforcement had them but someone made a mistake somewhere.

The St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department responded to the original call of stolen property Monday morning, and South Bend PD pulled the suspects and equipment over Monday night.

When asked if the VIN number was originally entered by the county, St. Joseph County officials said the initial report did have the VIN for the trailer. But, they say, deputies are required to submit a special form with that information within two hours after responding, so other police departments have access to the information. County officials say they're unsure whether or not the VIN was available for South Bend Police when the suspects were pulled over.

ABC57 reached out to South Bend Police to see if that officer ran the VIN number to confirm whether it was stolen. They confirm they did run a VIN number and nothing came back because no information was previously entered into the system.

“I appreciate the police in the community, they have a very tough job especially right now. But also, they had them. Someone made a mistake somewhere.”