Porch Pirate incidents have risen in the St. Louis area, and one family experienced a new way the thieves are taking packages.
According to KMOV 4, David Hayes lives in St. Louis County, near Creve Coeur. On Tuesday (June 8), he had an Amazon package delivered, but his package wasn't at the door when he got home from work. Instead of his package, there was an order from Panera Bread placed by his door.
Luckily, Hayes had security cameras installed above his front door. Surveillance video shows a man with a DoorDash bag place a Panera Bread bag on the porch and then steal the Amazon package.
During an interview with KMOV 4, Hayes said he felt angry and violated. He also added that he didn't order anything from Panera Bread. "It seemed pretty deceitful and well-thought-out, so I would think they'd done this before."
Hayes even went as far as cross-referencing the order number with the restaurant. Employees at the location said an order did go missing that day.
"It made sense that somebody came, took that order, and then used it as a decoy to deliver it to a house that never ordered such an item, then stole my item," Hayes stated.
The Panera Bread order was never placed through the DoorDash app. The food delivery company is investigating if the driver even works for the company, KMOV 4 reported.
Hayes said the Amazon package was a shirt for his daughter, so it did not have much value. However, he did say he will be adding to his security system.
St. Louis County Police Department said this is the first report they've received of an incident like this.