Price: $1.00 Payment method: PayPal Item condition: 9+ Shows little or no signs of wear
Update April 27, 2026:
Hi all,
I wanted to close the loop on a situation I had posted about earlier.
My Sony A1 (Serial: S01-3372293-F), which was stolen during a Facebook Marketplace meetup, has been successfully recovered.
The camera was located at a pawn shop in Boston, and thanks to coordinated efforts between Wayland PD, Boston PD, and Framingham State University Police, it has now been returned to me.
Im sharing this update so that anyone who may have noted the serial number earlier can be assured:
👉 This camera is no longer stolen and is fully accounted for.
I truly appreciate the support and vigilance of the photography community here, as well as the work done by law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions.
If anyone has any questions or had flagged this serial previously, feel free to reach out.
My camera was stolen tonight during a Facebook Marketplace meetup at a Dunkin Donuts parking lot in Wayland,MA around 5:55pm.
📷 Camera: Sony A1
📌 Serial Number: S01-3372293-F
The individual ran off with the camera and fled in a vehicle. A police report has been filed.
Description of individual: Black male, approx. mid-20s, around 510, slim build, curly hair, wearing a dark grey sweatshirt with design and light grey sweatpants.
Vehicle: Beige Lexus mid-size SUV with Massachusetts plates.
This is a unique camera to me personally its the same one I used to capture a well-known wildlife moment where a Great Gray Owl in the wild landed on my camera.
⚠️ If you see this camera listed for sale anywhere (Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, local groups, etc.), please DO NOT purchase it it is STOLEN PROPERTY. Buyers can verify the serial number on the camera body or in settings.
If you have any information or come across a listing, please message me or contact Wayland Police Department - Officer Joseph Mancuso (508-358-4721), [email protected]
Even a small tip could help. Please share if youre local.
Bob Nancarrow wrote:
Sorry to hear this, good luck. Bob.
Thank you, Bob! It is very disturbing indeed as you trust someone buying product in person and they run with it in a public place. I have never come across this before.
OCTAVIOLEPE1 wrote:
Sorry to hear this happened. I am on Reddit too and will let you know if I see the Sony.
Did the person seem sketchy or anything ?
Now that I think of it from the looks he didn't appear like shady or anything, we was black male, 5, 10, slim build wearing dark grey sweatshirt with design and grey sweatpants. his clothing and such was good I mean .. didn't look like a shady guy just by clothing style etc. He also drove Lexus so .. weird. he had parked his car on another street and ran to that street and then fled. looks like that is the new strategy of scamming. I hope that cameras on streets and dunkin capture him and/or his car plate
argar wrote:
Did his Facebook profile look sketchy?
that is the part that it did not. it was created in Dec 2025 but then it looked simple and nothing that would stand out as such, even work place and high school etc was listed. but then again all that could be fake too.
Sorry to hear about this. Surprising it happened in Wayland of all places, with a median household income in excess of $200K.
For what it's worth, public libraries also make excellent meetup spots: being inside means there are doors to negotiate, people around, and it's much harder to just grab and sprint. Police station are probably the best option of all.
Hope the Dunkin' and street cameras help track this guy down. Are you pursing that route?
mjc wrote:
Sorry to hear about this. Surprising it happened in Wayland of all places, with a median household income in excess of $200K.
For what it's worth, public libraries also make excellent meetup spots: being inside means there are doors to negotiate, people around, and it's much harder to just grab and sprint. Police station are probably the best option of all.
Hope the Dunkin' and street cameras help track this guy down. Are you pursing that route?
I hope so too. Police should be able to get access to the footage!
I like you also had a Sony a1 stolen from me at the parking lot if a donut shop here in California but it was a group of three and one of them pulled a gun on my brother. After that I learned to verify every person I meet before I met them in person. Meet people with a history and not new accounts with low counts. Beat of luck in recovering your camera. If you have home insurance they should cover a portion of the stolen camera.
Zayne12 wrote:
I like you also had a Sony a1 stolen from me at the parking lot if a donut shop here in California but it was a group of three and one of them pulled a gun on my brother. After that I learned to verify every person I meet before I met them in person. Meet people with a history and not new accounts with low counts. Beat of luck in recovering your camera. If you have home insurance they should cover a portion of the stolen camera.
oh man!! So sorry to hear!! Thank goodness you all are safe! Thanks for sharing! Please stay safe! I hope to find mine. have filed a report and yes police is looking for camera footage.
I did a Craigslist transaction yesterday (I was the buyer). The lady I bought from wanted us to meet in front of her local library. The parking lot was full which she said made her feel more secure. I've done a ton of CL transactions as either the buyer or seller and I've never felt paranoid but she definitely had her guard up. I guess a buyer always has the opportunity to grab the item and run away and it's tough to stop that. My running after thieves days are long past
xcguy5 wrote:
I did a Craigslist transaction yesterday (I was the buyer). The lady I bought from wanted us to meet in front of her local library. The parking lot was full which she said made her feel more secure. I've done a ton of CL transactions as either the buyer or seller and I've never felt paranoid but she definitely had her guard up. I guess a buyer always has the opportunity to grab the item and run away and it's tough to stop that. My running after thieves days are long past
I know. In this case too it was 5:55 pm broad daylight, lot was not empty at all. there were people. its crazy that people do these things. Hope I find it. thanks!
Im really sorry. This must be scary. Ive had similar incidents in Boston, MA, and found another member on FM in Framingham, MA whose Sony gear was stolen in a similar situation involving the same person on Facebook Marketplace.
Im wondering if it could be the same group operating across Massachusetts.
That sucks. Keep alerts for eBay and marketplace nationwide to see if it pops up.
I'm so paranoid I meet at a bank if there's cash involved and immediately deposit it, or the local police station meetup spot for everything else. I also stick my 360 camera to the roof of my truck and sometimes even make a short video of the exchange. But mostly I just eat eBay fees and sell things here at a bit of a discount to avoid those issues. Though online transactions can create their own issues as well.
joychris wrote:
That sucks. Keep alerts for eBay and marketplace nationwide to see if it pops up.
I'm so paranoid I meet at a bank if there's cash involved and immediately deposit it, or the local police station meetup spot for everything else. I also stick my 360 camera to the roof of my truck and sometimes even make a short video of the exchange. But mostly I just eat eBay fees and sell things here at a bit of a discount to avoid those issues. Though online transactions can create their own issues as well.
Good luck, hope you're made whole.
Chris
Unfortunately, even meeting at a bank isn't necessarily a good safeguard.
A guy tried to steal a 5DSR in the same way as the OP in the waiting area of a Chase bank in Union Square in Manhattan. Skinny caucasian guy pretends to check out the camera and then bolts out the door. I ran after him for a couple blocks, screaming that he had just stolen my camera, and thankfully a delivery guy stepped out and tackled him onto his back. I took the camera back (it was in the original box so it didn't get damaged in the fall thankfully). He ran off and when I called the cops from the bank, the guys who responded basically said that it's not worth filing a police report, probably because they didn't want to do the work.
SONY A1
