<u>http://www.wsj.com/articles/yeti-coolers-are-hot-no-really-people-are-stealing-them-1472653433
[h=1]Yeti Coolers Are Hot! No Really, People Are Stealing Them[/h][h=2]Prized by outdoor enthusiasts, the pricey, indestructible ice chests have inspired bandits to get organized; ‘They’re expensive, man.’[/h] <!-- data-module-name="article.app/lib/module/articleHeadline" -->
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<meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-PP399_YETI_0_J_20160829134024.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="‘I get good money for them,’ says William Bowers, left, speaking from jail about the Yeti coolers he is accused of stealing from boats. Tanner Beattie, right, pleaded guilty after Texas police found his pickup full of stolen Yetis, some attached to severed cables." itemprop="caption description">
‘I get good money for them,’ says William Bowers, left, speaking from jail about the Yeti coolers he is accused of stealing from boats. Tanner Beattie, right, pleaded guilty after Texas police found his pickup full of stolen Yetis, some attached to severed cables. Photo: Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office (left); Gregg County Sheriff’s Department
ByJohn Clarke
<time class="timestamp"> Aug. 31, 2016 10:23 a.m. ET </time> 40 COMMENTS<meta content="UserComments:40" itemprop="interactionCount">
<!-- --> One afternoon in June, a man and two women in casual beachwear walked into the Sand Dollar Lifestyles store in Mobile, Ala. One distracted the cashier, another blocked the security camera.
The third homed in on their target. By the time clerks realized what was going down, the thieves had spirited $1,420 of loot out and driven off.
The Yeti Bandits had struck again.
<!-- --><meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/HC-GU632_Cooler_G_20160830150019.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="Yeti cooler" itemprop="caption description">
ENLARGE
Yeti cooler
<!-- --> Their booty was two coolers, the kind campers or anglers might use to stock sandwiches and beer, along with cups and bottles.
These weren’t just any coolers and cups—these were Yetis, part of a hugely popular line of luxury outdoor gear. Using a similar modus operandi, thieves this year stole thousands of dollars of Yeti goods from Sand Dollar’s chain of four stores in coastal Alabama and Mississippi, said chain manager Joey O’Brien. “It was carefully thought out,” he said.
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Mobile police said the bandits are part of a suspected gang that has systematically stolen Yeti coolers and gear, sometimes using a Mercedes-Benz as a getaway vehicle.
Yeti coolers have cult status among outdoors enthusiasts who swap stories and videos online about their Yetis. Some fans call the Yeti the “Redneck Rolex.”
<!-- --><meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-PP394_YETIjp_FR_20160829133857.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="Trigg County, Ky., Sheriff's Deputy David Tomlinson shows a cache of stolen Yetis, valued at $2,500, which he says two men filched from pickups and boats." itemprop="caption description">
ENLARGE
Trigg County, Ky., Sheriff's Deputy David Tomlinson shows a cache of stolen Yetis, valued at $2,500, which he says two men filched from pickups and boats. Photo: Trigg County Sheriff
<!-- --> They are also big with burglars this year, who are swiping Yeti coolers from stores, cars, boats and beaches nationwide.
Mobile police have five suspects and offer a cash reward for their capture.
Two Yeti bandits in Cadiz, Ky., met their victims one August night in a Main Street eatery, where they all talked amiably about vaping contests over double cheeseburgers. The thieves tracked the men back to a lodge, said Trigg County Sheriff’s Deputy David Tomlinson, and filched Yetis from pickups and boats.
“Kentucky people are pretty trusting,” said Deputy Tomlinson, who arrested them after a tipster overheard them at a restaurant talking about selling the coolers on the street. He said they stole nine coolers valued at $2,500.
At Ferguson Ace Hardware in Cherryville, N.C., manager Alex Ferguson now locks up every piece of Yeti gear. A Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Wheaton, Md., secures Yetis with carbon-steel cables. “We haven’t had thefts in this store but our chain has,” a sales manager there said. “People load up their arms with coolers and make a run for it.”
Officers arrested two women in Paducah, Ky., in July who they say stole $500 of soft-sided Yeti coolers from a grocery store using two toddlers to assist in concealing the loot by sitting on it in the shopping cart.
“I’ve seen some bizarre acts and criminal extremes in my time,” said Capt. Matt Carter of the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department of the arrests. “This just goes to show the extreme that some people will go to.”
<!-- -->[h=4]Take a Look at Other Recent A-Heds[/h]<meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OG-AH374_AhedIn_8H_20160525125821.gif" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="" itemprop="caption description">
<!-- --> Much of Yeti’s mystique comes from its hard-sided coolers, costing from $250 for small models to $1,300 for the Tundra 350, advertised as big enough to hold two tuna or three dressed elk. Designed to withstand beastly abuse, they are manufactured through a process called biaxial rotomolding, similar to how some kayaks are made.
Yeti coolers won a seal of approval for bear resistance from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a group seeking to protect grizzly habitats.
Yeti Holdings Inc. reported 2015 sales of $468.9 million, up from $89.9 million in 2013, in July filings for an initial public offering. The Austin, Texas, company declined to comment on Yeti thefts.
“People want Yeti because it’s a trendy, high-quality product,” said Sand Dollar’s Mr. O’Brien. “People who couldn’t afford Yeti can now go on Craigslist and buy one that’s more affordable,” which is to say, may be stolen.
<!-- --><meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-PP400_YETI_0_P_20160829134213.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="Yeti coolers won a seal of approval for bear resistance from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a group seeking to protect grizzly habitats." itemprop="caption description">
Yeti coolers won a seal of approval for bear resistance from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a group seeking to protect grizzly habitats. Photo: YETI
<!-- --> Police now comb Craigslist, <!-- --> eBay<!-- --><!-- -->EBAY0.99%<!-- --> and other sites for hot coolers.
Craigslist was William Bowers’s outlet for Yetis he stole, charge police in Ocean Beach Isle, N.C., who say he targeted high-value boats at the marina.
Boarding one in July, Mr. Bowers ignored six fishing rods and a GPS valued at thousands of dollars to steal one Yeti cooler, said Jeff Williamson, a boat captain whose company’s charter craft were among those robbed.
“He was focused on one thing,” Mr. Williamson said, a Yeti model 65 costing about $400. “It stings.”
Police tracked Mr. Bowers from surveillance video, said Det. Rich Heycock, who arrested him.
Mr. Bowers, speaking from Brunswick County jail, where he is awaiting a court date, said he stole Yetis for about a week before getting caught. “They’re expensive, man,” he said. “I get good money for them.”
Det. Heycock said he recently tried using Yeti “bait coolers” to catch crooks in “a sting operation.” He sat for hours staring at a cooler without any bites.
Jason Rogers, an insurance adjuster in Fairhope, Ala., posted a video pleading for the return of a cooler stolen in July that belonged to his late son, offering a $500 reward and a new Yeti, with no results. The theft, he said, “was a slap in the face.”
Fairhope Police Sgt. Craig Sawyer said Yeti thefts are increasing in town, with 26 this year.
Victims are often pickup drivers, including targets of a man locally dubbed the Yeti Bandit in East Texas, whom police were hunting for dozens of thefts from truck beds.
In May, officers in Odessa pulled over a Ford pickup full of Yetis, some attached to severed cables. It was their man, Tanner Beattie, said arresting officer Det. Sgt. Trae Portwood.
Mr. Beattie pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 days in jail, two years’ probation and other penalties. A man answering the Yeti Bandit’s phone number, identifying himself as Mr. Beattie’s grandfather, said Mr. Beattie declined to comment.
“When you have $400 coolers,” Det. Sgt. Portwood said, “people are going to start stealing them.”
</u>
[h=1]Yeti Coolers Are Hot! No Really, People Are Stealing Them[/h][h=2]Prized by outdoor enthusiasts, the pricey, indestructible ice chests have inspired bandits to get organized; ‘They’re expensive, man.’[/h] <!-- data-module-name="article.app/lib/module/articleHeadline" -->
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<meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-PP399_YETI_0_J_20160829134024.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="‘I get good money for them,’ says William Bowers, left, speaking from jail about the Yeti coolers he is accused of stealing from boats. Tanner Beattie, right, pleaded guilty after Texas police found his pickup full of stolen Yetis, some attached to severed cables." itemprop="caption description">
‘I get good money for them,’ says William Bowers, left, speaking from jail about the Yeti coolers he is accused of stealing from boats. Tanner Beattie, right, pleaded guilty after Texas police found his pickup full of stolen Yetis, some attached to severed cables. Photo: Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office (left); Gregg County Sheriff’s Department
ByJohn Clarke
- John Clarke
The Wall Street Journal
CANCEL
- BiographyJohn Clarke
<time class="timestamp"> Aug. 31, 2016 10:23 a.m. ET </time> 40 COMMENTS<meta content="UserComments:40" itemprop="interactionCount">
<!-- --> One afternoon in June, a man and two women in casual beachwear walked into the Sand Dollar Lifestyles store in Mobile, Ala. One distracted the cashier, another blocked the security camera.
The third homed in on their target. By the time clerks realized what was going down, the thieves had spirited $1,420 of loot out and driven off.
The Yeti Bandits had struck again.
<!-- --><meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/HC-GU632_Cooler_G_20160830150019.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="Yeti cooler" itemprop="caption description">
Yeti cooler
<!-- --> Their booty was two coolers, the kind campers or anglers might use to stock sandwiches and beer, along with cups and bottles.
These weren’t just any coolers and cups—these were Yetis, part of a hugely popular line of luxury outdoor gear. Using a similar modus operandi, thieves this year stole thousands of dollars of Yeti goods from Sand Dollar’s chain of four stores in coastal Alabama and Mississippi, said chain manager Joey O’Brien. “It was carefully thought out,” he said.
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Mobile police said the bandits are part of a suspected gang that has systematically stolen Yeti coolers and gear, sometimes using a Mercedes-Benz as a getaway vehicle.
Yeti coolers have cult status among outdoors enthusiasts who swap stories and videos online about their Yetis. Some fans call the Yeti the “Redneck Rolex.”
<!-- --><meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-PP394_YETIjp_FR_20160829133857.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="Trigg County, Ky., Sheriff's Deputy David Tomlinson shows a cache of stolen Yetis, valued at $2,500, which he says two men filched from pickups and boats." itemprop="caption description">
Trigg County, Ky., Sheriff's Deputy David Tomlinson shows a cache of stolen Yetis, valued at $2,500, which he says two men filched from pickups and boats. Photo: Trigg County Sheriff
<!-- --> They are also big with burglars this year, who are swiping Yeti coolers from stores, cars, boats and beaches nationwide.
Mobile police have five suspects and offer a cash reward for their capture.
Two Yeti bandits in Cadiz, Ky., met their victims one August night in a Main Street eatery, where they all talked amiably about vaping contests over double cheeseburgers. The thieves tracked the men back to a lodge, said Trigg County Sheriff’s Deputy David Tomlinson, and filched Yetis from pickups and boats.
“Kentucky people are pretty trusting,” said Deputy Tomlinson, who arrested them after a tipster overheard them at a restaurant talking about selling the coolers on the street. He said they stole nine coolers valued at $2,500.
At Ferguson Ace Hardware in Cherryville, N.C., manager Alex Ferguson now locks up every piece of Yeti gear. A Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Wheaton, Md., secures Yetis with carbon-steel cables. “We haven’t had thefts in this store but our chain has,” a sales manager there said. “People load up their arms with coolers and make a run for it.”
Officers arrested two women in Paducah, Ky., in July who they say stole $500 of soft-sided Yeti coolers from a grocery store using two toddlers to assist in concealing the loot by sitting on it in the shopping cart.
“I’ve seen some bizarre acts and criminal extremes in my time,” said Capt. Matt Carter of the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department of the arrests. “This just goes to show the extreme that some people will go to.”
<!-- -->[h=4]Take a Look at Other Recent A-Heds[/h]<meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OG-AH374_AhedIn_8H_20160525125821.gif" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="" itemprop="caption description">
- At Cosmetics Stores, Makeup Moochers Take Sampling to a New Level
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<!-- --> Much of Yeti’s mystique comes from its hard-sided coolers, costing from $250 for small models to $1,300 for the Tundra 350, advertised as big enough to hold two tuna or three dressed elk. Designed to withstand beastly abuse, they are manufactured through a process called biaxial rotomolding, similar to how some kayaks are made.
Yeti coolers won a seal of approval for bear resistance from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a group seeking to protect grizzly habitats.
Yeti Holdings Inc. reported 2015 sales of $468.9 million, up from $89.9 million in 2013, in July filings for an initial public offering. The Austin, Texas, company declined to comment on Yeti thefts.
“People want Yeti because it’s a trendy, high-quality product,” said Sand Dollar’s Mr. O’Brien. “People who couldn’t afford Yeti can now go on Craigslist and buy one that’s more affordable,” which is to say, may be stolen.
<!-- --><meta content="https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-PP400_YETI_0_P_20160829134213.jpg" itemprop="representativeOfPage contentUrl"><meta content="Yeti coolers won a seal of approval for bear resistance from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a group seeking to protect grizzly habitats." itemprop="caption description">
Yeti coolers won a seal of approval for bear resistance from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a group seeking to protect grizzly habitats. Photo: YETI
<!-- --> Police now comb Craigslist, <!-- --> eBay<!-- --><!-- -->EBAY0.99%<!-- --> and other sites for hot coolers.
Craigslist was William Bowers’s outlet for Yetis he stole, charge police in Ocean Beach Isle, N.C., who say he targeted high-value boats at the marina.
Boarding one in July, Mr. Bowers ignored six fishing rods and a GPS valued at thousands of dollars to steal one Yeti cooler, said Jeff Williamson, a boat captain whose company’s charter craft were among those robbed.
“He was focused on one thing,” Mr. Williamson said, a Yeti model 65 costing about $400. “It stings.”
Police tracked Mr. Bowers from surveillance video, said Det. Rich Heycock, who arrested him.
Mr. Bowers, speaking from Brunswick County jail, where he is awaiting a court date, said he stole Yetis for about a week before getting caught. “They’re expensive, man,” he said. “I get good money for them.”
Det. Heycock said he recently tried using Yeti “bait coolers” to catch crooks in “a sting operation.” He sat for hours staring at a cooler without any bites.
Jason Rogers, an insurance adjuster in Fairhope, Ala., posted a video pleading for the return of a cooler stolen in July that belonged to his late son, offering a $500 reward and a new Yeti, with no results. The theft, he said, “was a slap in the face.”
Fairhope Police Sgt. Craig Sawyer said Yeti thefts are increasing in town, with 26 this year.
Victims are often pickup drivers, including targets of a man locally dubbed the Yeti Bandit in East Texas, whom police were hunting for dozens of thefts from truck beds.
In May, officers in Odessa pulled over a Ford pickup full of Yetis, some attached to severed cables. It was their man, Tanner Beattie, said arresting officer Det. Sgt. Trae Portwood.
Mr. Beattie pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 days in jail, two years’ probation and other penalties. A man answering the Yeti Bandit’s phone number, identifying himself as Mr. Beattie’s grandfather, said Mr. Beattie declined to comment.
“When you have $400 coolers,” Det. Sgt. Portwood said, “people are going to start stealing them.”
</u>
