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Family looking for heirloom watch lost following car crash
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BATON ROUGE - A family heirloom went missing after a car accident days before Thanksgiving 2023. Now the family is on a quest to recover the lost item and contacted 2 On Your Side for help.
The Rolex watch has been in the family for years and was worn by Brett Rabel’s father. The watch was passed onto him and most recently worn by Brett’s son, Mason.
Mason was wearing the watch when he was in an accident on River Road last November. The car flipped. Mason was ejected from the vehicle only responding to painful stimuli. When Brett arrived at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital his son was unconscious. In the whirlwind he was handed the belongings his son arrived at the hospital with and knew then that something very important was missing.
“There was no watch, I made an inquiry and they said they would check,” said Brett.
The watch is worth about $55,000 and holds significant sentimental value to the Rabel family. EMS records show a cold watch was removed from the patient and put into their pants pocket at the scene. From there, it went missing.
“Immediately I went out to the crash scene and looked,” said Brett.
Louisiana State Police searched too. In their investigation, LSP found the hospital had no record of the watch. Police body camera footage shows officers searching through the vehicle for identification. At one point, the video shows bags on the floor. Inside those bags were thousands of dollars in quarters recently collected from the laundry room at one of Brett’s apartment complexes.
The jeep was towed to Road Runner Towing. When Brett retrieved the vehicle, he found one of the bags under the seat but the other three were gone.
“When I asked about it, you know the other bags, they didn’t have anything… they didn’t have anything to tell me about other personal items,” said Brett.
Brett says Roadrunner Towing ultimately reimbursed him for the missing quarters plus a little extra for his trouble. However, the quest for the missing watch continues.
“There are businesses involved here and there are government entities involved here but they are all staffed by people and it all comes down to people. I don’t think that watch disappeared, I believe somebody intentionally took it but, of course, I have no proof,” said Brett.
He’s done his own investigation and made contact with agencies involved, but so far no one has accepted responsibility.
Mason is doing much better.
“He had a brain injury so he’s had a remarkable, remarkable recovery,” said Brett.
With no answers, Brett has decided to file a civil lawsuit naming EMS and OLOL. EMS said they are unable to comment due to patient privacy. OLOL sent the following statement:
“Our Lady of the Lake is committed to patient safety and security on our campuses. While we cannot comment on any details of this situation due to privacy concerns, please be assured we fully investigate any claims of theft or missing property on our campuses and take responsibility to find resolution if we are at fault. Additionally, we work in complete cooperation with law enforcement on these matters and have not been made aware of an active investigation into these allegations.”
Brett hopes to have the watch returned or be reimbursed for his lost family heirloom. He’s also offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who returns the lost watch.
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