High Sierra Topix

Has anyone had their converter stolen while parking at a trailhead or in Bishop? It had been a serious issue in the Bay Area; two of my employees had theirs stolen, both drive Prius's and live in San Jose.

Bishop Police Dept:

Catalytic converter theft is a problem and has increased nationwide. The City of Bishop is also seeing this increase as we have experienced several thefts recently. The Police Department is asking residents to be mindful that these thefts are occurring and to please report any suspicious activity, vehicles or persons.

The Bishop Police Department in cooperation with the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department arrested two people recently from Nevada who were related to recent catalytic converter thefts in our area. The investigation is ongoing and the police department is also working closely with agencies in Mono County as the same suspects recently visited their area.

The Bishop Police Department wants to assure the citizens of this city we are working on this issue and is asking for your help. If there are any victims who have not filed a report with the Bishop Police Department are encouraged to do so by calling (760) 873-5863.

I had mine stolen in Santa Monica, probably at 9 PM while we were in the Living Room and could have easily looked out while it happened. Some videos show 60-second operations. I have talked with several other neighbors who had the same problem. They are mostly after the Gen 2 Prius models but I guess they have moved onto the Gen 3's. We installed a shield on our new Prius hybrid, which might offer some protection in our neighborhood only, just because it would slow someone down.

Regarding trailheads, my suspicion about Cat converters and all thefts is that thieves do not want to be stuck on a road with no options to escape an oncoming policeman.

So here is the next big problem, get ready: My mechanic told me that people are drilling holes in truck tanks to get gasoline. You are left with no gas and a very expensive repair. I could see that happening at a trailhead, as it could be done in a way that may not attract much attention.

While on the subject, generally, I also witnessed a smash and grab incident at a road stop off the 5. Thieves wait for victims to pull up and get out to go to the bathroom. The second you are out of sight, they smash the glass, grab whatever is there, and make off super-fast. In this case, leaving one person in the car or parking in the middle of the cars, not at the edge, could help prevent an incident.

I have been hearing about stuff like this coming out of the Bay Area for years, and an article in the LA Times reported that those same Bay Area crime rings are now coming down to SoCal.

So sorry to range a bit off topic, but car safety at trailheads has been a major concern for me for years now. Frankly, I have been surprised that it has not been a bigger problem.

Been going on in L.A. for years. Somebody tried to steal mine 10 years ago. Must have run out of battery power or snapped a blade because they only got through one pipe and started on another.

A car in town is an easier target than driving the distance to a trailhead. But things could change if they start really cracking down on this in Bishop.

I am so good at hiding valuables in my car at the trailhead that I cannot find them myself! This summer I had to totally unload my car and search every nook and cranny for an hour to find my cellphone. I think getting old has a bit to do with that too.

We've never had a security issue at a trailhead, and that's in over fifty years of hiking. We have had things stolen in a campground..both times because we left a few "minor" items to show that the site was occupied, and someone decided that they would help themselves. In neither case was the primary motive financial...since the items weren't worth more than about $25.

Still, it is a lousy way to end a day of hiking...

As far as smash and grab type thefts at trailheads, ths happened a dozen times or so up here in the Trinity Alps about 30 years ago. The couple doing it were eventually caught. Big surprise, meth heads. Seems drugs might not always turn people into angels.

Never had anything taken from our boondocking RV campsites. We often leave it for the day, no problems.
Cable lock the generator, gas cans, etc to the rear bumper and throw a camo tarp over everything. Won't fool anyone that walks up for a close look, but sort of hides stuff from the casual drive-by. One time we returned to find a strange set of footprints in our site but nothing taken. OTOH, we boondock in some pretty remote spots where very few people are out driving around looking for trouble.

The only time anything was taken was while the RV was parked in a storage lot.

A case a few years ago where someone was breaking into cars at a popular trailhead. FS LEOs staked out the place for several days. Eventually the miscreants came back. The LEOs caught them all on video before popping out of the brush in full camo and rifles. yelling "LAW ENFORCEMENT -- FREEZE -- ON THE GROUND ---NOW!". Must have scared one of the bad guys because you could see on the video a large wet spot suddenly appearing around his waist...