I was always surprised at how feeble and (seemingly) easy-to-break-in
light aircraft appear to be... And yet, aircraft theft seems to be a
(fortunately) rare occurrence (as far as I know.) I would guess this is
due to the relative ease by which aircraft can be tracked down (ATC,
etc.) Also, the stringent safety regulations in aviation (the need to
keep accurate maintenance records, regular inspections, etc.) would make
very difficult, in my opinion, to keep and operate a stolen airplane
undetected. Thus, it seems natural to think that this particular Cessna
182 was flown to a nearby, small uncontrolled (private?) airfield and
was soon dismantled for parts. Again, I'd guess that strict FAA
regulations regarding equipment would also make difficult to
sell/purchase equipment of unknown or dubbious procedence. My bet is
that the airplane may have been dismantled and it's on its way to be
shipped overseas, perhaps to the Caribbean or South America, to join the
ranks of drug gangs' or guerrillas' fleet...

Posting the N- number and color is not useless, in my opinion... Since
the airplane was most likely flown to a small airport, people familiar
with the airfield would likely remember this "new" white-black-red
Cessna if they saw it landing... If the thieve(s) were smart, they would
have landed very early in the morning when most people sleep and their
destination airfield was deserted (before 6 AM I'd say.) Thus, I'd focus
my search on those small/private airfields with hangar facilities (to
allow the aircraft dismantling) within less than 1/2 hour flight time
from Lakewood, NJ.

My two cents... Hope this helps, and good luck!

Paul

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