The Ranch - 2015

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February 2nd

• Go to Ranch, Front Screen Door Forced Open – Latch Destroyed - Linoleum Inside Ripped Up, Cam Monitor On, Turn On Well Pump - Still Cycling – Call Repair Company, Meet with Internet Installer – Set Up Security Camera DVD to Interface, Secure Front Inner and Screen Doors To Each Other, Take Cam Monitor Home 

On my next ranch visit, both front doors were closed. The well repair team looked at the water tank and said the diaphragm had collapsed. The tank and pump were only 5 years old. I would always keep the pump powered off when I wasn't there. I figured someone had been using the water and emptied the tank. I assumed they opened an outside spigot. The tank had to be replaced which cost me $500.00. I left the pump powered on when I left. If someone was using the water I didn't want the same problem with the tank to happen again.

February 7th

• Go to Ranch, Front Doors Closed, Meet with Well Repair Team – Tank Damaged Beyond Repair – Installed Replacement, I Install Lock on Pump House, Secure Front Inner and Outer Doors with Wire and Padlock, Left  Well Pump On 

Now that I could access the ranch cameras from my home in Sierra Vista, I started routinely looking at the camera captures and watching live view. There were never any direct images of people but I realized I could see reflections of activity in and around the mobile. It was at that point that I finally realized that they were in the mobile. And that it was being used as a stash house for illegal smuggling. I made a surprise early morning visit to try and catch them but found no one inside. From the camera reviews, I realized the smugglers were breaking into the locked back porch door and then entering through the unlocked mobile back door. And since this activity was clearly visible to my Hispanic neighbors, I realized they were participants in the smuggling. I concluded that nothing I was doing was discouraging the smuggling activity. I needed help from law enforcement. 

February 23rd 

• Suspect Illegals Being Stashed in Mobile – Go to Ranch Early in Morning – No One Found in Mobile, Front Doors Closed, Later Viewed Videos from Home - Showed Reflections of Illegals Hiding While I Was There 

 February 2017 Strategy  

• Review Ranch Cameras Remotely Every Day – Look for Reflections – See Back Porch Door Forced Open – Lights On and Off– Can Figure Out Smuggling Routine 

 February 2017 Conclusion 

•  Ranch is Being Used for Smuggling, My Efforts to Discourage Have No Effect, Need Help from Law Enforcement

 I documented all that I had seen and the escalating electric bills and, in March 2017, submitted it to the Cochise County Sheriff Ranch Patrol web site. A deputy called me in response. His only solution was to increase area patrols. He didn't mention getting the Border Patrol involved. I had to ask him to do that. He told me to call 911 if I saw more activity. The “increased patrols” if they actually ever happened, had no effect on the smuggling activity 

 March 3rd 

•  Submit Report to Cochise County Sheriff Ranch Patrol Web Site 

 March 7th 

•  Return Call from CCSO Ranch Patrol Guy – Response Less than I Expected – Had to Request Border Patrol Be Notified – Says to Call 911 When I See Activity

One evening I was seeing a lot of reflective activity on the ranch cameras. The CCSO Ranch Patrol guy had told me to call 911 so that's what I did. The responding CCSO deputies looked in a few windows (most of them were covered) and decided there was no one inside. Their primary goal seemed to be to not scare the neighbors who were of course involved in the smuggling. The CCSO visit had no effect on the smuggling activity. In fact, the frequency of the activity increased.  

 March 9th 

• Lots of Activity in Mobile on Cams, Call 911 re Illegals in Mobile – CCSO Response Much Less than Expected ) – Cam Alarms While They are There (Activity Inside), Deputy More Concerned About Disturbing Neighbors (Unbelievable) 

One morning I could see lots of reflections of people moving around and inside the mobile. This was after the smuggling activity normally stopped. This time I called the Border Patrol. They did a raid on the property (along with CCSO). I watched remotely for a while. I saw the back wooden door opened by a cop which was strange because I always kept that door locked. After about an hour I shut down the computer and went out to meet friends. Later when I called to find out what had happened, I was told by a CCSO deputy that there was no one found. Then he threatened to charge me if I called again. Later that day the camera captured the front door being violently forced open. I sent a text about it to the CCSO deputy (who had threatened me) but received no reply 

2017 March 15th 

• Cam Live View Shows Reflections of Illegals at Ranch, Call Border Patrol (Naco) – Response by BP and CCSO – I Watch Remotely in Live View – See Cops Open Back Door (Should Have Been Locked), Turned Off Cam Live View, Assumed Situation Under Control 
• Voice Message From CCSO – I Call Back, No One Found, CCSO Threatens to Charge Me the Next Time I Called (Unbelievable), I Persevere and Ask to Show My Documentation to CCSO in Sierra Vista – He Agrees 
• Review Camera Captures - Before, During and After Law Enforcement On-Site – Activity Behind Mobile (Illegals Running Away), Cops Outside, in Mobile and with Canine Unit, After Cops Left Front Door Violently Forced Open – Send Text to Deputy (No Reply)

I went to the ranch the next day to fix the broken front door latch. While I was there I discovered the back wooden door was unlocked and the deadbolt jamb plate had been moved so the bolt was blocked from fully engaging. I fixed that. But I wondered why the cops hadn't told me about the unlocked back door. And how the jamb plate was offset.  

March 16th 

• Go to Ranch, Replace Latch on Front Screen Door, Discover Back Wooden Door Unlocked – Deadbolt Damaged, Tried to Replace Mobile Back Door Lock – Not Successful 

Clearly, the smugglers weren't intimidated at all by the raid. I started to wonder if there was some collusion going on with law enforcement. I looked at the cameras every day, The smuggling frequency increased from a few days a week to every day. And they were hanging around longer. Despite all this, I didn't give up. I decided to put up more mirrors and cameras and try to get better images to show law enforcement. 

March 2017 Observation 

• Daily Viewing of Ranch Cameras, Smuggling Activity Increases From a Few Days a Week to Every Day – Not Fazed by CCSO or BP Responses, Smugglers Getting Inside Information? 

March 2017 Strategy

• Smugglers Arriving Earlier and Staying Later, Buy More Cameras and Mirror Tiles 

 I bought wireless cameras and mirror tiles and went to the ranch. I couldn't get the cameras to connect to the wifi so I put them aside. But I put the mirror tiles around and in the mobile. I also uncovered all the windows. During this visit I found a section of carpet in the side room where the illegals stayed, completely soaked. Someone had turned on the water valve for the bathroom. But I had removed a connector on the pipe, intending to replace it later. So the water poured through the opening. The valve could only have been opened by someone inside. The mirror tiles worked well. I got lots of good images. 

 March 29th

• Go to Ranch, Spartan Door Unlatched – Prop Bar Duct Tape Removed, Fencing and Posts Moved, I Fix Back Wood Door Deadbolt, Remove Coverings on Windows, Discover Section of Side Room Carpet Wet (Illegals Turned on Bathroom Valve But I Had Removed Fitting on Pipe), I Put Up Mirror Tiles Inside and Around Mobile

 March 30th 

• Viewed Cam Captures from 29th and 30th - Good Images Reflected in Mirror Tiles – Proof for Border Patrol At the end of March 2017 I came to the conclusion that the smuggling at the ranch wasn't just some local guys making a quite buck. There was a smuggling ring running the show. And it was costing me lots of money. Not to mention that I was concerned the smugglers would move up a level from intimidation to more physical threats. I needed the cops to resolve this. 

March 2017 Conclusion 

• Ranch is Part of Smuggling Ring, My Monetary Cost is Considerable, I'm Fearful of Being Harmed by the Smugglers 

 With the clearer camera captures and my documentation of events I was confident I had enough proof to take to law enforcement. I went to what I thought were Border Patrol offices in Sierra Vista and Tucson. These were actually ICE offices and couldn't help me. I went to the CCSO office in Sierra Vista. They “didn't have anyone available to talk to me.” Or so they said. I called a Border Patrol 1-800 number and was told that the BP won't respond unless CCSO actually finds illegals on the property. That didn't make any sense. I suspected my call was redirected to the smugglers. 

 April 3rd

• Go to Sierra Vista Border Patrol Office – Not There Anymore, Only ICE 
• Go to CCSO Sierra Vista Station – No One There to Talk To (Right)
• Go to Border Patrol Office in Tucson – Actually ICE, They Give Me 1-800 Number
• Call Border Patrol 1-800 Number from Car, They Defer to CCSO (Later I Suspect Call Redirected to Smugglers) 

  As a last resort, a week later, I drove to the CCSO in Wilcox. That was the office that responded to my original calls about the ranch. No one answered the door so I used the dispatch phone and was connected to a CCSO office in San Simon. When I told the deputy who answered that I was calling about my Richland property, he accused me of making two fraudulent calls about it. I replied that the calls weren't fraudulent and said I was at Wilcox to show CCSO my documentation. He told me his Wilcox deputies would be back in a few hours. I replied that I would wait. 

While I waited in a restaurant, I received a notification text of motion detected on my Sierra Vista cameras. I looked at the snapshot included with the text and was alarmed to see blurred figures in the yard adjacent to the house and within the chain link fence. My dogs had free access from the house to the yard so I was concerned they were being harmed. I canceled the meeting with the Wilcox CCSO and started driving home. On the way I stopped and called the CCSO in Sierra Vista to do a welfare check on the dogs. About an hour later I got a phone message that the dogs were ok. I thought the Cochise smugglers were hanging around my home to intimidate me into staying away from the ranch stash house. When I got home I walked around with my laptop connected to the camera web site. In live view I saw reflections of figures on the roof. I did a test. I said out loud that I would stay away from Cochise if they paid for the electricity, kept the ranch property mowed and stayed away from Sierra Vista. Of course I wasn't going to actually give up on the ranch but I wanted to see what they would do. They got a grade of 33% because a few months later they made an in-person payment on my SSVEC account. At the time I had forgotten about the “test” so when I saw the credit I called SSVEC to notify them of the error. The other two parts of the test they failed: No mowing, still at Sierra Vista. 

April 7th ◦ 

• Go to CCSO Wilcox, No Answer at Door, Dispatcher Transfers Me to Deputy Faus at CCSO San Simon – Accuses Me of Making Two Fraudulent Calls (Unbelievable) – I Persist - Said Wilcox Deputies Out for a Few Hours – I Said I'd Wait 
• Unusual Sierra Vista Camera Notifications, Blurred Figures in Yard, Now Worried About Dogs, Call for SV CCSO Welfare Check (Dogs OK), Cancel Meeting with CCSO Wilcox, Drive Home
• In Cam Live View See Figures on SV Roof, The Smuggler Test: Stay Away from Sierra Vista (Fail), Mow Ranch (Fail), Pay Electric (Pass) 

At the end of April 2017 I was remotely viewing the ranch cameras. There was lots of activity. I changed the DVR password. Evidently that kept the smugglers from hacking into it and they weren't happy about it. Much later I would realize that they were deleting any incriminating captures and changing the settings of the cameras over the Internet. So now the game begins. When they were moving the illegals they wanted to keep me from watching in live view. So they disconnected the DVR from the Internet. The camera problem was solved. They were confident that the Border Patrol and CCSO weren't going to show up any time soon. So that problem was also solved. They probably thought to themselves “Now she'll give up.” But I didn't give up.   

April 27th 

• Remotely View Ranch Cams, Lots of Activity, Change Cam DVR Password, Receive Notification Device Disconnected (Security Camera DVR Disconnected by Smugglers Inside Mobile)

 April 2017 Conclusion

• Smugglers Not Discouraged by Cameras, Not Fazed by CCSO and BP, I'm Not Giving Up 

In May 2017 I hired Private Investigators to investigate the ranch smuggling activity and verify, as a second party, that it was actually happening. Then I would give their report to law enforcement and the cops would take care of the problem. I would meet with the PIs at a local restaurant in Sierra Vista. It was during these meetings that I realized I was being followed. The Pis did a survey of the ranch and four hours of covert surveillance. They reported back that there was noting to see. They said they'd move the ranch cameras to the roof and that would be the end of their efforts. After the failed PI investigation, I realized that the smugglers had been listening when the PIs told me the dates and times they would be at the ranch. I also started to see tails in Sierra Vista  whenever I left the house. I told the Pis about my concerns but they just blew it off. I was on my own again. 

May 5th 

• Call Private Investigators, Set Up Meeting May 6th • First Meeting with Private Investigators at Landmark Restaurant, On Drive I Notice Vehicle Following Me, Hispanic Man (Senor Overshirt) Walks Past Me in Alley, PI's Will Send Estimate 

May 7th

• Receive DTFI Contract and Estimate – Send Payment, First Action Survey on May 8th 

May 9th 

•  PI Survey Results Meeting at Landmark Restaurant - Didn't See Anyone on Property, No Signs of Forced Entry, Kept Dwelling on Trivialities, Plan for Covert Surveillance on May 11th (Smugglers in restaurant Listening) 
• Tail at the Goodwill – Same Guy (Senor Overshirt) From Alley on May 6th, Send E-Mail to DTFI with Photo – They Blow it Off 

May 11th 

• Covert Surveillance Results Phone Call – Nothing to See, Told Them Smugglers Listened at Landmark and Canceled Smuggling During Surveillance – They Blow it Off, Plan to Meet Me at Ranch and Move Cameras to Roof

 May 12th

•  I Have to Secure Ranch Myself, Identify All Possible Entry Points and How to Secure, Purchase Materials 

 So I met with the Pis at the ranch and they moved the cameras to the roof. I told them about the tails in Sierra Vista but they blew it off. Probably neighborhood guys from Cochise they said. While I was there I tried to secure all access points to the ranch mobile and the Spartan with locks and chains and anything else I could come up with. While I was doing that I found more damage and possible access points including the bathroom window crank broken off. Right before I left, I noticed that they had lined up their vehicles (used for tailing me in Sierra Vista) end to end along the fence bordering my Hispanic neighbors. I guess they were trying to intimidate me. That evening I remotely watched the cameras in live view. The reflective activity showed that they tried to get through the new lock on the porch door and probably failed, then resorted to climbing through the bathroom window (with the broken crank). So despite all my efforts, they still got in. The next evening,May 14th, I couldn't get to the ranch DVR over the Internet. Valley Telecom said the router was also disconnected. I wasn't able to get in until 4:20 PM on the 15th. When the smugglers turned the power strip back on.  

May 13th 

•  Meet PIs at Ranch, They Move Cameras – Dismiss Concerns about Tails in Sierra Vista – Say Probably Just Guys from Cochise, They were Wrong Wrong Wrong 
• Try to Set Up Wifi with Security Camera DVD – Not Successful, Call to Valley Telecom Tech Support – Put in Trouble Ticket
•  Install Window Locks, Discover Bathroom Window Crank Broken Off – Easily Pulled Open from Outside - Probable Access Point 
• Realize Back Porch Where Window Was Removed (Just Screen Insert) Possible Access Point, I Tried to Secure the Opening 
• Install New Deadbolt Double Cylinder Lock on Mobile Back Door, Hasp and Padlock on East Back Porch Door, Secure Back Wood Door and West Back Porch Door to Inside Jambs with Brackets 
• Smuggler Attempt to Intimidate Me - See Sierra Vista Tail Vehicles Parked End-to-End Along Fence Bordering Hispanic Neighbor's Property 
• Install Chain With Padlock Around Spartan, Drove Home
• Evening Ranch Camera Activity – Possibly Smugglers Trying to Get Through Porch Hasp Lock (Probably Unsuccessful), Then Front Bathroom Window (Probably Successful) 

May 14th

•  Valley Telecom Tech Support Call: Modem and DVR on Wrong Router Ports (Smugglers Probably Disconnected and Connected Back in the Wrong Ports) ◦ Can't Connect to Camera DVR Over Internet 

May 15th

•  Can't Connect to Ranch Cameras, Valley Telecom Says Router was Disconnected, Everything Came Back Up at 4:20 PM (Smugglers Turned Off Power Strip and Then Turned it Back On)