Board theft stirs Facebookers

THE RESPONSE of thousands of Facebook users to a stolen surfboard has “overwhelmed” an Ocean Grove surfer.
Jon Willard, who had deactivated his Facebook account until the theft, posted a plea for information hours after his custom-made yellow Rasta ’66 noserider was stolen from his car while he surfed at Point Impossible around midday February 8.
More than 2500 people had shared Mr Willard’s post by Wednesday this week.
Facebook users as far away as the US and The Netherlands had shared the post.
Mr Willard said he had yet to recover the surfboard but the show of public support had left him “overwhelmed”.
Mr Willard told the Independent a woman believed she had seen the board inside a car travelling down Surf Coast Hwy shortly after the alleged theft but he had no other feedback.
Bellarine Police officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Angelo Ferrara said the incident served as a reminder that thieves outside the region targeted “trusting locals” who overlooked the security of their belongings.
“We’d encourage people to be careful with their property no matter where they are,” Sen Sgt Ferrara said.
“We’ve had prior examples of people who don’t live in the area coming to local car parks and beaches to steal things while beachgoers are out in the water.”
Sen Sgt Ferrara believed the unique design of Mr Willard’s board raise a “possibility” it could be found.
The design could help identify the board if it surfaced on online sale sites or at second-hand dealer stores, Sen Sgt Ferrara said.
“There’s a fair chance if whoever stole wants to make money out of it, either selling it on internet or taking to second-hand dealers.”
Mr Willard said he had placed advertisements on eBay and Gumtree alerting users about his stolen surfboard.