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My Aged Mum, who was then 80 years of age, lived in an apartment residence for

the elderly. Two years ago (on Christmas Eve, no less) she was the victim of a

ruthless home invasion. The thief had worked very hard to gain the trust of the

elderly residents, and on the night she struck (yep, it was a woman), my mother

admitted her to the apartment.

Mom's phone wires were cut her call bell was de-commissioned, and she was

savagely beaten--actually unimaginably beaten, and left for dead on the floor

in her living room. One of the items taken was an antique doll, quite

distinctive and large, and also very valuable. It dated back to approximately

the 1820's and had been handed down through the generations from mother to

daughter for all that time.

Aged Mum survived, though with traumatic brain injuries that left her mental

capacities greatly diminished. She grieved over that doll; perhaps it was

irrational, but I grieved, too. While the police worked on finding the

perpetrator, I began to haunt eBay. Each morning as I started work, and each

night before I went to bed, I ran search after search, using every term I could

think of. Three weeks after the crime, I hit paydirt; the doll was there.

Because I had been so connected to it over my lifetime, I was able to supply an

exhaustive description. (Unaccountably we had no photograph.) The police

contacted eBay, the auction was stopped, they got a warrant, and next morning

they served it on the seller.

As it turns out, he was legitimate; he had purchased the doll at a well known

local flea market the week before. He had been on eBay for several years,

selling vintage stuff and assorted items he found at local sales. He provided

as much information as he could, and the doll was returned to us within 24

hours of my first locating it at eBay. The doll's porcelain head was undamaged,

but her arms (which are kidskin leather) were in bad shape.

Stories like this really don't have good outcomes. In our case we've had to see

an intelligent, lively old lady suffer the loss of her intellect in what should

be a comfortable old age. The police have not located the criminal after two

years, and additional violence has taken place at that facility where my mother

lived. Aged Mum is in a much better facility now, and the doll is here with

me--and has been photographed and appraised for insurance purposes.

I guess the lessons learned are these: (1) Ebay does cooperate with police, and

the police know how to secure their cooperation--probably best to leave the

interaction to the cops. (2) I had some kind of underlying certainty, which

might have been irrational, that the doll would eventually show up on eBay, one

way or the other. I searched diligently and regularly. (3) Document your

valuables. (4) It may take a while for your items to turn up, and they may pass

through several hands. It all depends on whether the scum who has robbed you is

versed in eBay or has to use the traditional fences, flea markets, and crooked

pawnbrokers.