Facebook helps recover stolen golf cart

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Monroe Baldwin of North Myrtle Beach says he turned to social media when golf cart turned up missing.

He immediately contacted North Myrtle Beach Police when he noticed his golf cart was gone. A few days passed when he decided to take matter into his own hands.

Baldwin posted a picture of the golf cart onto his Facebook wall and with it a message to his online friends asking them to be on the lookout. He says he suspected someone took the golf cart and probably left it stranded somewhere in the neighborhood once the battery ran out.

About 20 minutes after he uploaded the post his cell phone rang.

It was a Facebook pal who recognized the blue cart in the picture. He told Baldwin it has been sitting across the street from his house, abandoned underneath a tree for a few days and didn't know who it belonged to.

"I did not have high expectations. I was quite surprised when I got the phone call. I couldn't believe it. I thought it was wonderful that I got my golf cart back," said Baldwin.

Detective Pelland with North Myrtle Beach says social media can be a useful tool to recover stolen or lost items, but says people should proceed with caution.

Pelland says there are scam artists out there who may take advantage, taking the information posted about the stolen property and using it against that person. She recommends checking on privacy settings and limiting who can see a post. She also says people should be especially wary of sharing personal information like home and work location.

"You may be lured into a trap. Someone may have said that they found your property and in fact they're actually trying to trap you, obtain further stolen property, possibly harm you if you were to meet them, or try to take more money from you as a bounty for finding what was stolen."

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