Suspicious selfie catches thieves

Two men have been arrested in connection with the theft of hunting equipment and a digital camera after a selfie photograph was discovered on the stolen camera.

Branden Fischbach (24) and Jared Atkins (22), both of Corydon, were each incarcerated at the Harrison County Jail Friday.

On October 7, 2015, an Indiana Conservation Officer initiated an investigation after a hunter had a crossbow and digital camera containing several hundred images stolen from his hunting blind near Corydon. During the investigaiton, several people were interviewed, including Fischbach and Atkins’ girlfriend.

The following night, the conservation officer investigating the case received a text message indicating that the stolen items had been dropped off at a local cemetery. The stolen crossbow and camera were subsequently recovered; however all images on the memory card had been erased.

Alan Stewart, a photographer/staff writer with the Corydon Democrat newspaper, learned of the theft and offered his assistance in retrieving the images from the memory card. He was able to find 765 images, including a selfie of Atkins’ girlfriend dated 10/6/15 were recovered. This led to Fischbach and Atkins confessing of their involvement.

Atkins was arrested without incident, and Fischbach turned himself into the Harrison County Jail, and both were charged with Theft, A Misdemeanor.

The Corydon Police Department and Harrison County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the investigation.