March 26, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Ore. –- Craigslist is known for it’s unexpected deals and hidden treasures, but this weekend an Oregon man got a raw deal from the Internet community bulletin board.

A pair of ads posted on Saturday afternoon told Web-minded bargain hunters that the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and all his belongings, including his horse, were free for the taking, said Jackson County sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan.

But owner Robert Salisbury, was not moving -– and on the day the listing was posted, he was merely relaxing near Emigrant Lake, four hours away. That’s when he got a call from Michelle Easley, who had claimed his horse.

The ad she read stated the sheriff’s department had declared Salisbury’s horse abandoned and was available to a good home.

“I can’t stand to see a horse suffer so I drove out there and got her,” said Easley. “The horse didn’t look abandoned. She is in good shape for being 32-years old.”

Easley’s instinct told her that something looked a little off, so she left a note on Salisbury’s door explaining the ad. But later that afternoon, when the second Craiglist posting appeared, she decided to call the owner to make sure the ad was legitimate.

It was a shocking phone call for both Salisbury and Easley -- the ads were a hoax.

“I feel bad because I was a part of it,” said Easley, who called the police while Salisbury drove home.

On the country lane leading to his home, he stopped a truck laden with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.

“I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back,” Salisbury said. “They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did.”

After “rebuking” Salisbury, the driver sped away and the burglarized owner continued home, passing several other cars filled with his possessions. But his home sweet home was filled with close to 30 people swarming and rifling through his barn and front porch.

Armed with printouts of the ad, the trespassers disputed his protest.

“They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true,” Salisbury said. “It boggles the mind.”

Several cars loaded with his property fled the scene, but not before some of their license plate numbers were jotted down by Salisbury.

Further looting ended with the arrival of the Jacksonville police and Jackson County sheriff’s deputies.

Now officers are in the process of contacting individuals seen leaving Salisbury’s home in possession of his property.

The message being given to the unsuspecting Craigslist robbers is if the taken items are returned, no charges will be filed.

Fagan commended Easley’s honesty, but warned that prosecution was likely for those failing to right the wrong.

On Sunday, some of Salisbury’s possession began appearing back on his property from those taking advantage of the “return-with-no-questions-asked” policy issued by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

Meanwhile, detectives have contacted Craigslist’s legal team to attempt tracing the ad’s originator.

Last year a Tacoma, Wash., woman fell victim to a similar crime originating from a Craigslist posting which invited the public to “take what you want. Everything is free. Please help yourself to anything on the property.”

And that they did. In this case, Laurie Ray’s home was stripped of everything from light fixtures to the hot water heater. The home was formally her mother’s and was being used as a rental, which at the time was between tenants.

Like Salisbury’s case, the ad was soon flagged and removed from Craigslist as it broke the rules of the site, which prohibits posts that are illegal, harmful, threatening or harassing.

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Robin Wallace, Pet Pulse reporter, contributed to this report.