COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A security camera at an Ohio home captured the moment a bold suspect grabbed an expensive package and took off, right in front of a FedEx driver who had dropped it off seconds before.
The theft took place around on June 3, when 33-year-old Kyle Dorsch of Columbus was expecting his new Apple smartwatch to be delivered, he said. Shipping was being handled through FedEx.
“The website kind of gave me an estimated delivery time of when it would be here and right as the truck pulled up, I saw him pull up,” Dorsch said.
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Dorsch’s doorbell security camera was rolling when he walked toward his front door to get his delivery. But as the delivery driver walked up the driveway, the camera also captured a blue car stopping by the house.
“We did notice that car down the street, probably 20 to 30 minutes before the truck came through the neighborhood, so they were aware the package was coming somehow,” Dorsch said.
A blue car pulled up in front of Kyle Dorsch’s house moments before the theft. (Courtesy Photo/Kyle Dorsch)
The FedEx driver made his way to Dorsch’s porch. By the time he dropped the package off and knocked on the front door, the camera caught the suspect already running up the driveway. The thief jumped up the stairs — startling the FedEx worker — before quickly snatching the package and running away. The camera caught a glimpse of the blue car speeding off moments later.
The entire exchange happened before Dorsch even opened his front door.
“Before I could even get to the door, it was gone,” he said. “I only saw the back of him as he was popping back into his car. I spoke with the FedEx station that the package came from and they said that it’s been happening quite a bit around Columbus. They’re not sure how tracking numbers are getting leaked or addresses.”
FedEx Communications Specialist Francesca Sacco did not answer questions about the specific theft affecting Dorsch, nor regarding tracking numbers potentially being leaked to thieves in Columbus. Instead, she commented on technology for customers that the company added to ensure “reliable delivery of their packages.”
“These tools have proven very helpful in combating porch piracy and improving the overall customer experience,” Sacco said. “Our flexible solutions like picture proof of delivery, FedEx Delivery Manager, and the FedEx mobile app offer customers a convenient experience, with more control over the timing and location of their deliveries.”
Since these technologies didn’t stop the porch pirate in Dorsch’s case, he turned to police and then took matters into his own hands.
“Filing the police report, they said it was going to take five to seven days for somebody to get back to me,” Dorsch said. “I didn’t want to just sit here, so I started looking around, seeing if somebody posted it for sale online.”
He found the watch on Facebook Marketplace within hours of it being taken. Dorsch said that a listing had photos of the box taken on someone’s lap in a car, and they were wearing khaki shorts matching the ones on the suspect who stole it. He noted that the Facebook profile hosting the sale had “FedEx package handler” listed as their job description.
“There’s just too many coincidences for it to not be who we think it is,” Dorsch said. “We had somebody else try to reach out to them and they seemed very paranoid about it, so we stopped getting responses. … We just checked on it again yesterday and they did mark the item sold, but we don’t know whether it was truly sold or if they marked it because they had no takers on it.”
The Apple watch was part of an upgrade through Dorsch’s cell service provider, AT&T. Thankfully, Dorsch wasn’t left empty-handed. He reported the profile to FedEx, and provided AT&T case numbers from the delivery company as well as Columbus police. The cell carrier also took action on the stolen watch, using the IMEI number it had on record.
“So they got everything reversed, they got the upgrade reversed, so I’m able to purchase another one, likely directly from the store this time,” Dorsch said. “And the watch that was stolen, they had to blacklist, so it can’t be activated by anybody.”
Still, that means whoever potentially bought the stolen watch received a broken product.
“They listed it for $600 and it retails new for $799,” Dorsch said. “I feel bad if they sold it, that person’s out hundreds of dollars and they might not be as lucky as I am as far as getting it recovered somehow.”
A Columbus police spokeswoman told Nexstar’s WCMH that investigators were still working on the case, but they had no additional information to share as of Tuesday. Dorsch said since filing the report, he has not been contacted by a detective either.
“If it’s somebody inside at FedEx, I hope they’re found,” Dorsch said. “You know in my case, it looks like everything worked out to where I can order a new one. But I do feel bad for the people that are working hard to afford these things and they’re being taken.”
