My £2k camera was stolen at the beach – I was stunned when the thief sent me a letter saying it was ‘karma’
A MAN whose £2,000 camera was stolen at the beach has revealed he was stunned when the thief sent him a letter saying it was “karma”.
Greg Crawford, from Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland, left his Nikon DS200 behind on a bench at Barra Airport last month.
The amateur photographer of 20 years was visiting the island with his wife Julie as part of a two-week Hebrides motorhome tour.
The 56-year-old took to social media to appeal for help and expected it to be returned due to “the nature of people on Barra”.
But Greg then got call from Castlebay Police Station saying they had received a letter addressed to England.
It read: “We found a camera at the bench on Barra Airport on the 6th of September.
“We decided that we would keep it as it was obviously meant to be found by us …. and we sold it to fund our holiday. We believe this was karma.
“We have returned the memory card as we realise there will be memories of somebody’s holiday in there.”
Greg told the P&J newspaper: “I’m still laughing. You just can’t take it seriously, I’m amazed.
“We were on a bit of a downer, but we just had to give our head a wobble and not let it spoil the holiday.”
The camera is not manufactured anymore and Greg wasn’t covered by insurance.
But he claims the theft has not put him and his wife going back to Barra.
He said: “Of all the islands in the Hebrides, it’s the one we said we definitely want to go back to.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “On Tuesday, 3 October, 2023, a letter was received at Barra Police Station containing the memory card from the camera.
“This will be returned to the owner and further enquiries remain ongoing.”