Between 1:00 and 3:00 AM on May 12, 1999 my 1985 Chevrolet Corvette was broken into in Winfield, KS. It was parked under a street light on Eighth Street, just east of Menor Street, on the south side of the street. Both side windows were broken and the rear hatch was opened. The doors were not opened and the burgler alarm did not go off until the police had discovered the car and I went over and opened the door. Several valuable items were stolen from the car including a Hewlett-Packard Vectra Computer which contained the data for the new Cowley County History web site. Much of the data was not backed up and will take a lot of time and effort to regenerate. The computer, the monitor and the digital camera all have serial numbers, which I would encourage all of you to keep an eye out for at the local flea markets and pawnshops. The Winfield Police Dept. is working on the case but could use whatever help they can get.
The PCMCIA hard drive in the camera has a lot of personal pictures which are of value only to my wife and I, and the computer hard drive has the new Cowley County History Web Site data on it, which is of value to everyone with an interest in Cowley County History.
Many Thanks to Larry Nelson, who heard the report on the police scanner and called the police to say that he knew that the owner of the red Corvette with Texas tags was staying at Jim Davis' house. The police called Jim at 6:30 AM and we went over to the see the damage. An intense thunderstorm had come up after 3:00 AM and the inside of the car was soaked. There were about 15 books in the car, but since the robbers are not readers they were not taken. Likewise with a set of Bob Lewis prints which had been given to me at the history meeting by Brian Pearce.
Winfield Police Dept. 316-221-5555
Bill Bottorff in Austin, TX 512-328-4747
Jim Davis, in Winfield, KS 316-221-3249