It's not about accepting or being bound to a contract but giving fair warning. If a utility wanted you to pay a bill or they would shut it off, they would send a certified letter. Does that mean if you don't accept it that they couldn't shut it off? Nope! It means they made every effort within reason, for you to rectify the situation.
You are sending her a letter with the expectation that she open dialog which is reasonable. I also think it's a reasonable assumption that if a person drops off the face of the earth, won't respond to phone calls, emails and even tells the police to tell you not to make contact that you have a right to demand you property back. After all, it is YOUR property.
If you loan your rake to your neighbor and all he says is he will return it when he is done using it, does that entitle him to hold it forever because he may still have use of it? :nope: If your going to say that it's just a rake, then insert some other device like your camera, car, pet elephant, whatever......
Wayne
Please don't misunderstand. I agree with you 100%. I'm just trying to see all the angles.
With your first example, the electric company has a signed contract wherein you are obligated to pay for services recieved. When you sign up for service, you sign a contract stating that you will be responsible for any power used at current market value plus any necessary taxes. If you don't pay, you default, and you get sued.
With your other examples, I think the law is open to interpretation. Without a loaning contract, this interpretation can be opened up and exploited by a good lawyer for either side. Without some contractually binding obligation to return the property, it becomes a matter of legal "he said, she said".
I also think that a question of property value, both real and percieved will come into play. A $5 garden rake is not going to warrant the type of legal intervention than a $5,000 riding lawn mower would. Likewise, a $100 cornsnake won't hold the same ground as a $1,000 stallion, or AKC Registered Champion Mastiff.
The point I was trying to make is that the local police may have no choice but to err on the side of caution to protect their department from unnecessary Civil Liberties lawsuits. I don't know that this is the case, but it certainly seems a reasonable position for the department to take.
The truth is, no matter how much percieved personal value these snakes may have to the original owners, their actual dollar value is almost definitely below that of a misdemeanor theft charge. What is there, really, that a police department can be required to do? If the dollar value of the property isn't high enough to qualify as a misdemeanor charge, the police are not likely to get involved. Small claims would still take the case, and it seems a fairly cut-&-dry case from where we sit. But in as much as criminal intent and police intervention...I'm not sure there is much to go on...
I think your idea was fantastic, and certainly a good way to get the small claims ball rolling. I just don't think the letters will imply any obligation on her behalf, even in so far as to obligate her to open communication. This line in your post--
Even if she doesn't accept the certified letter, she is bound to the wording inside it because you sent it and two copies of the letter by regular mail.
--is where I think you might be expecting too much. She cannot be "bound to the wording inside" simply because you sent a certified letter. She has no obligation to accept, open, read OR respond to any correspondance, legally, and as such, she cannot be held liable or obligated to any implied contract.
I still think it's a good idea, as these letters can work as favorable evidence for the plaintiff in many different ways. I just don't think there is much more than a potential small claims suit to retrieve the property value from all of this. That in itself may be valuable enough to those who've lost animals in this, but I doubt there is any actual criminal recourse in this situation.
Morally...I agree that she is obligated to respond and repair this mess. Legally...not sure there is much that can be done...