A leaf blower with an estimated value of $600 was stolen while a town Parks & Recreation Department crew was outside near Town Hall, but the department wasn’t able to provide police with the serial number for it (although they did provide a detailed description).
Serial numbers are typically used by police when they happen to come across stolen property and want to find the owner, and Darien municipal departments typically keep a record of them, according to police.
(Many municipal governments even tag property like chairs and desks to give them “serial” numbers, either for anti-theft purposes or just to identify them if they show up in the wrong place. The information also can be used potentially to find out how long a particular piece of equipment lasted.)
Although the serial number wasn’t available for police, the department was able to provide a good description of the equipment: The Red Maxx brand backpack-style leaf blower, Model 8500 has the department’s name stenciled in black letters on it.
Darien police say the theft was reported to them on Nov. 25, although the leaf blower was missing on Nov. 19. Police did not know why the department waited so long to tell them about the matter. (In general, police departments typically say, the sooner a theft is reported to police, the easier it is for them to solve it.)
The leaf blower was stolen while a work crew was blowing leaves at Mather Fields Park, the sports fields between Town Hall and the Post Road, next to Renshaw Road.
The theft occurred while the leaf blower was left unattended on the bed of a town pickup truck for about 30 minutes sometime between 10 and 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 19, which was a Thursday. No one reported seeing anyone suspicious in the area.