Last week our house was broken into during the day and my digital camera was stolen along with some other items (no big electronics, just the small stuff they could stuff in pockets or a small bag). All my life I heard my dad -- a retired cop -- tell me to take pictures of our valuables to show the insurance company in case they are ever stolen. But did I do that???? I always planned to but never got around to doing it.

The insurance company said if we can find a picture of me holding the camera, that would help. We have the manual and my SIL sent me a shot of me holding the camera, up close! (What are the odds of that??) It shows only the back side of the camera but it clearly says "Olympus".

Here is what I've learned from this experience and I want to pass it on to you.

1. Take pictures or a video of your valuables and keep them in your safe deposit box at the bank.

2. Record the serial nummber of the items and keep that list in the safe deposit box at the bank.

3. With an engraver, engrave your driver's license number preceded by the state on each item. (Example: CA -----------) If the thieves are stopped by the police and the items are found in the car, the DL# will identify the owner and show that it does not belong to the driver or other occupants of the car. This is something I learned today from a friend of mine. She said often times cops see those items in cars they stop and they suspect they are stolen but don't have anything to go on without some ID on the item.

4. Don't leave small items like cameras lying around in plain view. If burglar gets in, they want to get out fast and won't go through every single bag in the house. My camera was lying out on a table, in plain view.

I hope the above advice will prevent this from happening to you or help you recover whatever might be stolen. It's too late to protect and identify my stolen camera, but it's not too late for yours.

Jen