By Belize Live News Staff: The crew went to lunch. One man stayed behind. And the worksite cameras, according to the boss, saw exactly what happened next.
The Belize Police Department reports that Isaak Olfert, a 27-year-old construction worker of Shipyard, Camp 4, Orange Walk District, filed a report on Friday, July 17, 2026, after a Dewalt impact driver vanished from his job site during the midday break.
It began at about 12:20 p.m., when a supervisor informed him the tool was missing. Olfert was skeptical at first, telling him tools cannot simply go missing on a crew of four. But the supervisor explained the workers had left everything out over lunch, planning to pick up where they left off, and returned to find the Dewalt gone.
So Olfert went to the cameras. The footage, he told police, showed a lone worker remaining on site after the crew departed around noon. The man walked into an unfinished zinc building where the tool sat in plain view of the lens, glancing back over his shoulder again and again, then lifted the Dewalt, slipped it into his bag, and left for home.
Adding a bitter twist, the worker had the rest of the day off, granted by Olfert himself, after mentioning earlier in the week that he needed to collect money owed by a former employer.
The haul totals $699: the impact driver at $395, a 4-amp battery at $295, and a bit and socket at $9. Olfert downloaded the footage, gave a statement, and requested court action.
Police have one person listed as wanted in the matter, and until a charge is laid, his name stays unpublished.
The lesson for every worksite is an old one, made new by a lunch hour in Orange Walk: the crew may leave, but the cameras never do.
