JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- A Medford woman accused in a cruel Craigslist hoax has admitted the crime was her idea, and charges have been dropped against her husband.

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Amber Herbert (left) and her husband, Brandon Herbert as shown in police mug shots.

The Craigslist ads claimed that the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings, including a horse, were free for the taking.

Fake ad was to conceal horse theft

According to Herbert, she created the fake ad to conceal the theft of three horse saddles from the Jacksonville man's property.

The independent contractor was at Emigrant Lake when he got a call from a woman who had stopped by his house to claim his horse.

On his way home he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.

'Shoppers' didn't believe homeowner

"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."

The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings.

Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.

IP address helps catch culprit

Investigators eventually identified the IP address where the fake posting came from and tracked it to the Herberts.

"Several deleted files, as well as other evidence connecting the computer to the Craigslist post were located on the computer," Winters said. "The couple did admit to taking several saddles from the property and selling them. We believe the items were likely sold over the Internet."

Winters said the Herberts originally went to the property because it was listed as a rental and they were looking for one. Then, they went back later and burglarized it.

Jackson County Sgt. Colin Fagan called the whole plan "sinister."

Some property returned

Belongings removed from Robert Salisbury's property began slowly reappearing at his home a day after the postings. Police said people who return the items voluntarily would not be prosecuted.