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Arrest made in bizarre Barra ‘karma’ stolen camera case

A 54-year-old man is accused of stealing Greg Crawford's camera.

bench by barra airport where barra karma camera thief struck
The beach on Barra which doubles as the island's airport. Image: Greg Crawford.

The case of a missing camera in Barra has taken another twist after police arrested and charged a man in connection with the theft.

The news comes after the community rallied round tourist Greg Crawford who lost his camera while visiting the Western Isles.

The 56-year-old was on holiday with his wife when he unwittingly left the device on a bench near Barra Airport.

A friend went back to check for the camera shortly afterwards, but it was gone.

Posts to Facebook groups turned up no leads, but then Castlebay police station reached out to Mr Crawford.

Greg Crawford with his wife Julie on Barra where their camera was stolen.
Greg Crawford with his wife Julie on Barra. The pair enjoyed their holiday despite being victims of a bizarre theft. Image: Greg Crawford.

Police at the station had received a letter that claimed to be sent from whoever took the equipment.

The mail came with the following message: “We found a camera at the bench on Barra Airport on the 6th of September.

“We decided that we would keep it as it was obviously meant to be found by us …. and we sold it to fund our holiday… we believe this was karma.

“We have returned the memory card as we realise there will be memories of somebody’s holiday in there.”

The camera was a Nikon DS200, worth around £2,000 with the lens and extra battery kit included.

As the letter promised, Mr Crawford did receive the SD card some time later.

Memory card led police to a suspect in Barra camera theft case

The SD card came with information which led police to a suspect in the case, which resulted in them arresting a 54-year-old man.

Police reported him to the procurator fiscal.

In a statement, local police officer Constable Beth Cameron thanked the “community of Barra for their assistance in detecting this offence.”

Greg Crawford also shared his gratitude to the island community, where he hopes to visit again in the future.

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