Robbery gone stupid

So, one day we accidentally left a house door unlocked for about half an hour. I came home for lunch, which I rarely do, and noticed right away that my laptop was missing. It had been on the dining room table, but had not been visible from outside. This is because the ground slopes down, and the bottom of the window is about 9 feet above ground level. So somebody came in, not knowing what they'd find, and grabbed the only valuable (fence-able) portable thing we had. Only our wedding rings, and two antiques that would not be inconspicuous, might fetch more. Anyway, the charger was taken, too. And I had to tell my boss, cos the laptop actually belongs to my employer.

This was sad, but no critical data were lost. I back up frequently. The laptop was password protected, but it's not hard to wipe a drive.

Here's the stupid part.

The laptop was recovered the same day. In a neighbor's backyard. Undamaged (as I verified later). In a backpack that wasn't ours. So, the thief evidently didn't know how easy it would have been to wipe the hard drive and make the computer usable. And, gave me his or her backpack. Destined for infamy as one of the world's least competent criminals, no doubt.