Sherlock Jr.

I was on the final stretch of my morning walk, heading down Rome Avenue, when I spotted a computer bag and two purses leaning against a utility pole.

I reckoned they were purloined, and had been stripped of their valuables, and were left empty.

I opened the bags looking for a phone number, figuring I could find the owners and return what was left. And though I found a drivers license, and a check book (from separate individuals), I couldn't find a number.

So I called the Middletown Police who promptly responded. Officer Bill Porter asked me if I had looked inside. I told him I had, and he asked if I remembered the names. I didn't, but I did see that both items were from Massachusetts.

"Probably the Wesleyan complaint from last night," he said. He immediately called a colleague to find out if he could locate the owners. After examining the license, he determined it these were items reported missing by two Wesleyan students, who, coincidentally, live right across the street from me.

By the time I finished my walk, Porter was at the house returning the items to the grateful students, and trying to determine what had been stolen.

While there's been some friction between Wesleyan students and Middletown Police in the past, this is an example of the police working hard to be sure stolen items were returned to their rightful owners.