After His Shoes Were Stolen Off The Porch, One Man Made An Unsettling Discovery
Though 2020 has seen its share of unbelievable events, in late July, one city was captivated by a strange situation on a smaller scale. The Case of the Missing Shoes swept the local news and triggered a discovery of a network of rogue shoe thieves with covert rings operating around the world. But how — and why — did the shoes go missing? The people were determined to find out.
Meet Christian
As coronavirus quarantine restrictions lifted, Christian Meyer bought himself a brand new, high-end pair of sneakers. As a psychologist and mental well-being coach, he understood the importance of exercise, and he was more than ready to get back out and hit the ground running.
Soothing Surroundings
The weather was nice in his quiet neighborhood of Zehlendorf, Berlin, and the streets were thick with trees. It almost didn't feel like a city at all; rather, it felt like a small, rural community, a place where Christian felt safe leaving his belongings on the porch overnight.
Calm Before The Storm
For a short while, all was well. The sun was shining, his daily runs were invigorating, and life seemed to be going great. However, Christian's joy would be short-lived: one morning, he went out onto his porch and got a bad surprise.
Disappearance
One of his very expensive new sneakers, which he'd left by the door, was missing. Confused, Christian looked around to see if it'd fallen off the porch, or if he'd kicked it into a bush by mistake. But the shoe was nowhere to be found.
Looking For Clues
Luckily, Christian was close with his neighbors, so he began asking around to find out if they'd seen anything. Perhaps a young prankster had come up and collected his single shoe. But nobody had witnessed the crime.
The Mystery Deepens
They did have similar stories to share, though. Some neighbors also complained that they'd discovered missing shoes recently, but until Christian called attention to it, they chalked it up to their own absentmindedness. Now, a mystery was beginning to form.
Eyes Peeled
With multiple reports of missing shoes, Christian couldn't help but to investigate further. A few days went by, and he waited to see if more shoes disappeared, but none did — at least not yet.
Spotting The Culprit
Then, one evening, he heard a rustling outdoors. He looked out — and caught a glimpse of a young fox, trotting by the house with two blue flip flops in its mouth! Though the creature soon vanished, Christian quickly formed a plan.
Scramble A Plan
The next time he saw the fox, he'd follow it and hopefully find his lost shoe. This was a commitment that was easy to make in his head, but following through would prove difficult.
Glimmer Of Hope
A few days later, the golden opportunity arrived. There was the fox, cheekily trotting through the yard like he'd done nothing wrong. Christian slipped on a pair of non-fancy shoes and hurried out the door, being careful not to startle the fox.
Hot Pursuit
It darted into a nearby thicket, and Christian pursued. The woodsy environment he'd come to love about Zehlendorf now proved to be the bane of his pursuit. Sticks and brambles caught his clothes, and leaves got into his hair.
End Of The Chase
He had followed the fox through the dense underbrush for nearly an hour, and was almost ready to give up, when the animal slowed down near a divot in the ground. As Christian drew closer, he realized what it was: the fox's den!
Massive Stash
While the fox hid, he crept up and took a peek — and couldn't believe his eyes. The den was full of shoes, almost a hundred of them, and hardly any two were a match. Strangely enough, the fox seemed to prefer Crocs, as nearly every color of Croc was represented.
Reunited
Christian retrieved the shoes in bundles and brought them into a clearing. After he laid them all out, he contacted the neighbors who'd told him of their similar problem, and they were able to come identify and retrieve their lost soles.
High Numbers
Sadly, Christian's missing fancy sneaker was not among those found. But there could be other fox thieves nearby. The town of Foehren, in western Germany, had a similar problem, in which a mother fox stole 120 shoes in a single night for her cubs to play with.
Widespread Thievery
A writer in London, who was particularly frustrated with foxes in his garden, woke up one morning to find seven mismatched shoes placed neatly in the middle of his lawn. Similarly, a woman in Melbourne caught video footage of a fox stealing three boots off her porch.
Dual Heist
In an even cleverer heist, a Japanese pair of foxes with a taste for sandals was discovered working as a team to steal over forty pairs. It took five Kyoto police officers to surround the duo and rein them in before the spoils could be returned to their rightful owners.
Rationale
Why have the sly creatures done this? It seems that, like dogs, they like to chew on the shoes, as most of the footwear Christian found had been mildly gnawed. Crocs seem like they'd have a good, springy texture for chewing.
An Easy Fix
Fox cubs go through teething phases, and it's likely that the shoes help alleviate discomfort as the young animals' sharp incisors are growing. Regardless of the reason, you can avoid a similar fate for your shoes by just storing them indoors.
Bad Influences
We're not sure how foxes discovered that shoes were nice to chew on, but they've been known to play with dogs, who might be the worst shoe-chewers of all. Don't get mad at these furry red goofballs, though — they're just chewing away some stress from a major threat to their existence.
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