Security video, Facebook post help ID woman after heirloom stolen

WESTLAND, Mich. (WJBK) - A thief was caught on camera stealing an antique family heirloom right off a front porch in Westland. The family shared the surveillance video on social media - and it didn't take long for the post to spread like wildfire.

"If it wasn't for our video surveillance, we wouldn't have had any idea who this lady was," said homeowner Vince Harvey.

Harvey thanks those who shared the post about the apparent serial swiper.

"She was just arrested this morning," he told us Thursday.

Harvey says he placed a freshly-painted antique milk can on his porch. His wife's parents passed the family heirloom along to them.

"There's three milk cans. We gave one to my son, one to our daughter and we kept one for ourselves," said father-in-law Lynn Kaiser. "They're probably about 100 years old."

But the antique can was apparently too tempting not to take.

"It makes you mad how bold she did that," Kaiser said.

Just before 2 a.m. Wednesday Harvey spotted the thief with his Doorbell cam, parking her car and casually walking up to his porch.

"It didn't bother her when the lights all came on in the yard," Harvey said. "She threw it into her car and took off."

Posting the surveillance video on social media, the suspect's close-up got shared, liked, viewed and reposted all over Facebook.

"It was very awesome," Harvey said. "I was shocked and surprised."

This led police led to 22-year-old Racheal Dabelstein of Westland on a different theft complaint -- and recognized her right away. Westland police say they found stolen property from other homes as well.

"We were also able to identify a welcome sign," said Sgt. Robert Wilkie, Westland police. "From somebody else's lawn that was a similar theft in the past that she had done."

Dabelstein was charged with two counts of larceny Thursday.

"I heard from the detective that she lives around the corner from us," Harvey said.

Police are unsure how many homes she's hit. Harvey and his family are just happy to have their milk can back.