Woman Keeps Finding Shoes In Her Backyard Before Making An Unsettling Discovery
BJ Ross spotted a random shoe in her yard in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It wasn't hers, or anyone else's in her family, so she tossed it in the trash can. Though not much later, another stray sneaker poked out of the grass. Pretty soon, finding lone footwear on her property was a daily practice that left BJ stumped. Where were the shoes coming from? Who would do such a thing, and why was her home the dumping ground? She intended to find out.
Strange Situation
At first, the shoes didn't bother BJ that much, but after a while, their presence felt like trophies taken from the scene of a crime. She didn't believe anything nefarious was happening per say. It was the thought of someone wandering around her home that unsettled her.
Keeping The Evidence
BJ's mother suggested that she hold onto the shoes to piece together the mystery, or at least, in case their owners came looking for them. And while the appearances of the shoes were pretty strange, it wasn't the first time she'd found random objects in her yard.
Possible Suspect
There was an inkling in the back of BJ's mind of who the culprit might be — her cat, Jordan. The suspect was unlikely. BJ didn’t think it was possible for her six-pound kitty to carry objects that were nearly half his weight.
Hints Of A Pattern
Though, this wasn't the first instance of Jordan showing up with surprising treats. On Facebook, BJ detailed the laundry list of items he'd previously brought home: "dead mice, live snakes, dead and live birds, garbage including an empty chip bag and a rubber glove."
Cold Hard Proof
Before she blamed Jordan for these bad deeds, BJ needed concrete proof. She decided to install a camera in her backyard to observe Jordan's nightly activities and determine once and for all the identity of the shoe bandit.
Caught On Camera
When BJ rolled back the footage, she saw glowing eyes flash past the camera, and low and behold, there was Jordan, caught red-pawed with a shoe in his mouth! All this time, her cat was leading a double life. The film revealed incredible feats of strength.
The Purrfect Crime
Every night, Jordan made his rounds in the area, searching for shoes to steal. As the footage showed, the kitty was capable of scurrying up and over fences while maintaining a grip on the stolen goods. The saga was only beginning. BJ needed to know more about these escapades.
Sleepy Facade
See, during the day, Jordan presents like your average housecat. In fact, he seems pretty lazy, napping the day away. Now his family knows those all those hours spent snoozing were actually intentional rest in preparation for his nights of thieving. They needed to know the depths of his activity.
That Darn Cat
If Jordan were a person, his smug little way of flaunting his stolen goods wouldn’t be nearly as charming. However, because he’s a naughty fluffy cat burglar, his backyard patch of wrongdoing is pretty dang cute.
Tracking His Crimes
BJ was floored by Jordan's nighttime habits. After the impressive display of his cat reflexes and agility, she was curious to see how far he was traveling each night. So, she fixed a GPS tracker to Jordan's collar, and the results they gathered were even crazier.
Going The Distance
Looking at Jordan's route on a typical night prowling for shoes revealed to be much more involved than BJ imagined. In a single evening, her cat covered between seven and eight miles of ground.
Dealing With The Loot
With the mystery solved, BJ turned to solve the other glaring problem — her home was a hub for all Jordan's loot! She decided to make a Facebook group in order to come clean about her kitty cat's crimes and return all that he'd stolen.
Neighborhood Response
Thankfully, all of Bj's neighbors took the cat burglar news pretty well. They were happy to track down the location of their children's boots and slightly honored that Jordan had chosen their footwear to target.
Bad Boy Celebrity
Many people joined the Facebook group to encourage Jordan’s life of crime. They love tracking his nightly progress to see how far he’s gone or what he's dragged home on his latest haul. Jordan might be the most transparent thief in history.
No Apologies
Throughout the exposure of his criminal career, Jordan didn't show a shred of remorse. In fact, he seemed satisfied with all the attention — the mark of a true maniac. Just when everyone thought the jig was up, the bad boy cat kept thieving.
No Sign Of Stopping
Since his criminal reveal, Jordan' stolen shoe count has passed 50 pairs and only continues to rise. Sometimes, he watches indifferently as the neighbors collect their shoes, the ultimate power move. Will this guy ever learn? If the public has any say, then probably not.
Fan Mail
The more he steals, the more the people love him. Jordan receives tons of fan mail, from packages loaded with treats and toys to portraits and letters. Every once in awhile, he's sent a spare shoe to add to his collection.
Dodging The Press
News of the cat shoe swiping operation gathered viral attention. The local press tried to get a comment from Jordan in response, but he had nothing to say. With a swish of his tail, he traipsed off down the street.
Mom Forgives Him
When it comes to her sticky-pawed feline, BJ has a major moral blindspot. Despite his bad behavior, Jordan is still very much her beloved baby. He's still welcome home warmly each night after depositing his plunder.
Street Smart Critters
Jordan is proof that the neighborhood cats and dogs that wander the streets might not be as innocent as they seem. Incredibly, Jordan found an unlikely accomplice in his quest for shoe domination.
Meet Christian
The accomplice was discovered by Christian Meyer, who had 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 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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