Some might be critical of social media, but it actually has a lot of benefits in people's everyday lives. Social media can help friends and family stay connected when they're (geographically) far apart. It can even help you reconnect with someone that you'd long ago fallen out of touch with, for reasons that neither of you can remember.
But as social media (and particularly Facebook) have become more and more prominent over the past 10 years, it has expanded to be a useful tool in more ways than expected. One man learned this when he turned to Facebook for help catching a thief — and it totally worked!
Michael Stone Stadther asked his Facebook friends for help when he discovered that his beloved ice cream truck was missing, stolen by a thief in the dead of night.
Scroll through below to find out the resolution of this story and the amazing role that social media played!
Thumbnail Photo: Facebook / Michael Stone Stadther
Michael purchased "Bessie," a 1974 Chevy "rust bucket" ice cream truck several years ago.
Michael told AL.com that he keeps the truck on a lot behind his home, right next to a mini-golf course.
Unfortunately, Michael woke up one September morning to discover that the ice cream truck was gone. It appeared that a thief had disappeared with it in the middle of the night.
He quickly took to Facebook with a plea for his friends and followers.
"MY ICE CREAM TRUCK HAS BEEN STOLEN. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE THIS TRUCK. THANKS. PLEASE SHARE ON YOUR PAGE IF YOU LIVE IN FWB [Fort Walton Beach] OR DESTIN," he captioned a photo of his truck, naming two nearby cities in the Florida panhandle.
Michael's friends quickly jumped in to question why someone would steal an ice cream truck, of all things. Given its distinctive appearance and the song it plays, it's hard to think of a more identifiable vehicle.
They shared his post regardless, as did the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Incredibly, his plea worked — the ice cream truck was found!
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office shared an update on September 25, 2017, thanking social media for its help tracking down the truck.
The sheriff's office wrote:
You were right — you can’t hide an auto theft like an ice cream truck for long! It’s been recovered thanks to social media and an investigation into who is responsible is underway. The $10,000 truck was reported stolen to us around 8:27 a.m. on September 23rd from Angelfish Drive.
The savvy owner quickly turned to social media, posting pictures of the stolen truck — and the OCSO also shared the photos, reaching more than 46,000 people on our page alone. It created a lot of attention, some amusing comments, and even memes. We are happy to say leads from social media sparked the truck's recovery in Santa Rosa County Sunday. The SR Sheriff's Office located it on a Navarre street. When found, the ice cream stickers had been removed and black spray paint had been applied.
Thanks to all who helped share the info!
Michael said he'd gotten a tip from someone just a day after he reported it missing. The man said he'd seen a few guys sanding paint off a truck that looked similar to the one Michael posted.
As it turned out, that was his truck. Unfortunately, the thief (or thieves) had stripped the ice cream truck of most of the decals and decoration identifying it as such — likely in a haphazard attempt to disguise the fact that it was an ice cream truck.
On the bright side, Michael is pretty sure that the damage is only cosmetic and easily fixable.
"Oh my gosh, this truck is my baby," he told AL.com.
"Basically it's just my paint job," he said. "I don't think he did anything to it mechanically."
Michael also took to Facebook to thank his friends for sharing his plea for help that led to the swift recovery of his beloved truck.
"I'd like to thank all my FB friends for sharing my post which led to me locating my truck. Especially Manuel Castillo who spent this morning riding around in his car until he remembered where he had seen it the previous day," he wrote. "I will update everyone when arrests have been made."
Isn't it great that this story had a happy ending thanks to social media?
Don't forget to SHARE it on Facebook!
