Stolen Babe Ruth baseball
 

I want to report that my Babe Ruth autographed baseball was stolen from my house. It is in a PSA holder with a grade of 9 for the autograph and a 6 for the ball. I live in Mission Viejo Ca. I have attached a picture of the ball. It has an unusually bold signature. If any of you encounter this ball, please contact me.
Dave Bauer
dbauer317@aol.com

Why don't you post the cert.


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I truly feel bad for you! I hope you recover the ball soon!

The Grade certification: 65007168
The Autograph certification: E33460

Dave, did somebody break into your house and steal this single item? If so I'd be concerned it's somebody you may know. If not and other things were taken please disregard.

In any case sorry to hear it was stolen. The ink was flowing for babe that day, it is a really nice example that will be easy to catch if resold.

Any updates on this? Terrible to hear.

What other items were taken?

This was the only item taken. Police have a suspect but awaiting DNA testing for proof. The ball has not yet been recovered. I appreciate your concern.

DNA testing? For a stolen Ruth baseball? :confused:

holy moly! haha.

I was thinking the same thing. It would have to be someone he knew especially if they just stole 1 baseball and nothing else

For the OP — do you know this suspect? Was it a service provider who worked in/around the home?

This post is very weird and doesn’t make a lot of sense. Finger prints yes. DNA testing not a chance.

We don't know what else the thief may have done while in the house...:o

Forgot to flush?

DNA testing is usually unheard of for robbery/theft (and an actual police officer has also said so in this thread). It seems that practically every jurisdiction has a backlog of unsolved murder and rape cases that could likely be solved using DNA testing...many of those have yet to get done, so I find it very strange that DNA testing would have been utilized in a simple house robbery.

Around here, unless the caller says there's a weapon involved, police can take many, many hours to show up for a woman being physically assaulted. I can only imagine the length of time it would take for anyone to show up over a signed baseball. (FYI, thankfully, I've never been involved in a domestic dispute. This was the experience of someone I know.) My city has a backlog of rather infamous unsolved murders stretching back nearly 70 years. They have DNA on file for some of these cases, yet they refuse to do any testing. I have read that it costs approximately $5K per case to have genetic genealogy done. What do they do instead? The provincial government spent more than that to put up a billboard for a 1983 murder, offering a $50K reward! So far, bubkes. 42 years later, bubkes. We're told they have a clean DNA profile for this one. How about taking a fraction of that money and, I dunno, solve the case?

Please forgive this O/T.

Ruth ball
 

very strange

There may be some confusion over DNA and forensic testing. If they have a suspect but not the item they’ll look for a way to put the person in the place of theft but that doesn’t necessarily involve DNA.

Maybe
 

Im going to qualify this by saying I’m no expert in criminal investigations….. but…… my understanding is that it is not illegal for the police to lie to suspects in an effort to get a confession or more information….. so they may be using a claim of a positive DNA match as a ploy to get someone they feel is guilty to admit to the crime…… maybe I’ve been watching too many TV detective shows….

That is without question 100% true. Correct.

Insurance claim response
 

How did your private insurance of sports memorabilia respond when you filed a claim, I would hope they would somewhat get involved in the investigation-

Followup on stolen Ruth ball
 

Interesting comments. To respond to a few of them, the police ( 2 police and 2 investigators) arrived on a Sunday afternoon about one hour after I had called them. They extensively dusted for fingerprints that afternoon but found nothing. They said that the DNA testing using takes a couple of months but because of the value of the ball and the involvement of the investigators, it would be quicker. Monday morning they came back to our house and conducted a photo lineup with six pictures of individuals and asked both me and my wife to try and identify the suspect. The police have been very professional and responsive. The police requested that I not comment on the identity of the suspect.

Recovered Ruth Autographed baseball
 

I wanted to follow up with those responded to my post regarding my stolen Babe Ruth baseball. I am happy to report that the Sheriffs department just recovered the ball. The thief had the ball hidden in their home because they didn’t know how to sell it. I am very lucky!

Glad the ball has been recovered.

As a cop, I'm still disputing the DNA testing. No disrespect, but not a chance.

A happy ending for once! Glad you got it back!

Why did LE do a DNA test for a stolen baseball? There are tons of evidence kits from rapes and murders that don't get tested for DNA...

They didn’t.

Dave glad you got it back

Maybe they tested the ball to see if Babe actually held and signed it. :p

Very Happy for You
 

Glad to hear you have it back. Not at all surprised that the thief had it hidden in his home because he didn't know how to sell it. That's often the case with these guys. They steal without thinking about how to make money off the stolen item. Think paintings. Key question: What lesson did you learn?!? Peace.

Different states, counties, and municipalities all have different backlogs depending on funding and/or employee motivation.

Recovered Babe Ruth Ball
 

Thanks to those who expressed thanks that the ball was recovered. They did not need the DNA test to obtain a search warrent for their apartment. They will take DNA samples from the thieves to compare to the DNA that they found in the safe. They are currently in jail and are facing 14 felony counts. They recovered items from other homes as well.

.

So glad you got the ball back! Awesome!

Did you find out how they knew the Ruth ball could be found at your residence?

That would be bugging me.

They were just looking for something to steal and they came across the ball.

They will take DNA samples from the thieves to compare to the DNA that they found in the safe.

No they will not

Wow - that just sucks. Mind boggling the a-hole(s) didn't take off with more than just the ball.

That is such a beauty of a signature. It'd definitely be a centerpiece for a lot of collections.

So good to hear you have it back!

Thanks! I appreciate all of you who posted positive comments!

Glad you got the ball back. I think I'd sell it, then you don't have to worry about where to keep it, etc. I wouldn't dare display something that valuable. Glad your story had a "happy ending"

Maybe if the ball killed someone...

If you think about it.

Ray Chapman died after being hit by a pitch in NY on Aug. 17, 1920.

Hmmm... could you imagine owning "that" ball.
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Scumbags

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/n...l-comic-books/

Are the dogs ok?

Would have been nice if the article mentioned police used DNA to catch the criminals. Inquiring minds want to know.

If they were trying to connect the same people to thefts at different houses, it seems DNA may have been a possible way to do that. The article also mentions the suspects used different names and stole identities.

I feel like Dave is being treated like the perp here. He’s a crime victim.

Can we find out if the dogs are okay?

A cop posted questioning the use of DNA. Others thought the same thing. As a retired 30 year military legal officer, who has conducted and been involved with many investigations, I myself thought that was odd too. But that was my thinking for only one stolen baseball. After reading the story of many residents being involved, with many stolen items, I can now see where DNA could have possibly been used in this situation.

Only the use of DNA was being questioned, but I understand where you’re coming from. No doubt, everyone’s happy for Dave!

I wasn't going to post again about the ball due to some negative responses I received earlier. However, Calvindog asked about the dogs and I am happy to report they are fine. Regarding the DNA, they did not use the DNA to catch the thieves because they did not have a sample of theirs in the system. However they did take a sample from them when they were arrested and are awaiting to see if it is a match. Even though they had the ball in their possession, they are still pleading not guilty. They can say that they just received the ball from somebody and didn't steal it. The DNA match will refute that assertion. Thanks again to all of you who provided positive responses to this issue.

Dave, the comments about the use of DNA shouldn’t be taken as a negative. It’s just a part of the conversation. And as we can see by all of the comments, it was confusing and questionable. Glad you got your ball back!