Nadia Larsen should now have an easier time expressing her support for Donald Trump.
For months, campaign signs sheβs put in front of her East River Road home had disappeared or been vandalized, even the ones she used a ladder to install high in a tree.
Larsen estimates at least 40 of the signs have been swiped since February.
The most recent incident occurred on June 8, when Larsenβs husband found a pile of slashed signs next to their driveway.
Larsen first reported the thefts in March, when she says about 25 signs were taken.
βThereβs nothing logical about it, just somebody that has nothing else to do,β Larsen said. βThey think itβs fun to steal peopleβs signs. I donβt know what theyβre accomplishing with that, really nothing.β
Larsenβs early efforts to identify or deter the sign swiper by using small battery-powered cameras or placing the signs in hard-to-reach places did little to deter the thefts. She even had her son put the signs high in a tree.
Last week, the Pima County Sheriffβs Department made a break in the case, linking a woman to the thefts.
On May 5, shortly after the 26th sign went missing, a passer-by knocked on Larsenβs door reporting he had seen a young woman take a sign and run back to a car.
The man told Larsen he confronted the woman when he saw her taking down several signs and photographed her as she fled.
He gave Larsen the photos, which she promptly turned over to the Sheriffβs Department.
With the photographs in hand, the Sheriffβs Department traced the car to a possible suspect in the case. A photo lineup helped link the suspect to the thefts.
The case could result in misdemeanor theft charges, but as of now, no formal charges have been presented in the case, and the complaint is currently under review by the County Attorneyβs Office.
Despite the ongoing investigation, Larsen said the signs continued to disappear until just a few weeks ago.
Larsen says many of her neighbors are Trump supporters who are too afraid to put signs up in their yard, so she βputs signs up for everybody.β