Lost/stolen property. What to do now?
Hey so over 2 weeks ago I stayed over in Perth City for a friend’s birthday celebration. the morning of the day after me and my other friend were going to take public transport together, the next train was in 20 minutes.
since we had plenty of time i decided i might as well take this opportunity to return an item i bought a few days from the Sephora on Murray St since I knew I was not going to use it.
I had a suitcase and a purple, blue backpack (almost looked like a galaxy? I remember getting it from Kmart, can’t find any photos)
when i came back like a minute later my bag was gone, turns out my friend didnt realise it was my bag?? (tbf we didn’t get much sleep but cmon) and said “oh some guy took it.” badically, a middle aged white male with a kid thought the bag was lost and said he would hand it into the police.
immediately when I told my friend that the backpack was MY BAG we quickly went to the nearby police that patrol the city and asked them if they had known anything or if they could help.
of course i was FREAKING OUR bc that bag basically had my whole life in it, my wallet with my cards and cash and medication, my laptop and charger (I brought it because i was studying before going to join my friends in Perth. I had an assignment due the next day), toiletries, headphones. and it’s not just valuables but obviously sentimental things too, like the bracelet a uni friend made for me i tied on my headphones or the thank you next perfume i loved so much my aunt bought me for my birthday, and the cute stickers my little cousins put on my laptop.
They managed to get the guy on CCTV and found him in the maccas bathroom and then last they saw him taking a ferry to south perth. At this point it was a lost property report.
after, when I returned home I called around police stations hopeful that maybe, just maybe the guy handed in my things. nope, nothing. eventually the police deemed it as a stolen property case so they started to investigate which put me at ease because i was still trying to be hopeful, they had clear details and leads.
2 weeks later, i see the case had been filed. i go directly to the Perth police as i hadnt had any updates besides figuring out myself to use the check my crime website and wanted to give them the serial number to my laptop as i saw some reddit posts saying that it helps (also i found that pawn shops legally have to hold items for 2 weeks before selling them).
I was informed that the police filed my case because they couodnt properly identify the man even though they had a potential suspect (like bro how) and that they exhausted all sources to try find the items but couldnt do anything now. but they assured me that the serial number would help.
see, i’ve done everuthing. i’ve called transperth to see if they had any of my things in their lost property, i’ve joined facebook lost and found groups and tried to look for my items on facebook marketplace.
i’m not sure what to do anymore, i can’t even track my laptop since it’s not connected to wifi and somehow the battery is dead so i’ve been pretty stressed, 1 minute of my life and everything is gone. it genuinely has altered my life and my education, the fact that my things aren’t with me and i have no clue where they are.
i know i should be patient, surely the guy would put the items in a pawnshop, but i can’t help but be stressed about where my items are. i haven’t even told my parents yet and i probably won’t until i get my laptop back ATLEAST. and I start to think, what if i brought my bag with me, what if i ran to the maccas the guy was in and confronted him? what was he doing in the bathroom with my stuff for so long?? why didn’t the police follow him to the ferry? what is he doing with my stuff?? it’s so stressful
sorry i understand this is a very lengthy thread, i just want some advice on what to do and to hear of similar stories? i’m just a university student trying my best to get through life snd it feels like everytime life start to be ok something happens, i just want my stuff back i feel so helpless and like the police aren’t helping.