Man Rides Off with Family's Mower

A Morrow woman said a thief rode her lawn mower right out of the backyard. She said her neighbor's surveillance camera caught the lawnmower larceny on tape and hopes it helps police catch the crook.

"He just walked in like he owned it," said victim Jill Fowler.

When the man approached Fowler's home last Tuesday, he didn't know a surveillance camera was capturing his every move.

Video from the surveillance camera shows the man riding Fowler's lawnmower.

Fowler arrived at her Maddox Road home to find the back gate open and her two puppies missing.

"We immediately went in, started looking for the dogs, couldn't find them. My granddaughter noticed the top was up on the camper over there - and told us the lawnmower was gone," Fowler said.

Panicked, she ran to her next door neighbor's home.

"He said he hadn't seen anything but he would go through his video," said the victim.

Fowler said she has watched the video over and over looking for clues. "You can only see the coer of the lawnmower though." She said the suspect is crafty -- driving the mower without a shirt on the neighboring school's lawn as he makes his escape.

Fowler said she's conceed the crook was so brazen. The crime happened in the middle of the afteoon, right along a busy road.

The dogs were found that day, but the mower is still missing. Fowler has put chains on her fence and invested in an alarm system - to try and safeguard her belongings.

"It's going to run us around $1,200 to get us another one," said the victim. "It would be a miracle if I got my lawnmower back - I just hope no one else has to go through this."

Clayton County police have a copy of the video and said they've assigned a detective to the case. Their advice: write down the serial number, make, color and year of your lawn equipment. That makes it easier to track down, if taken.