TimeCruiser

If you bought all 3 of the affected sets from the same store, then unless the thief paid cash, the store should be able to cross-reference who returned those 3 sets. Convincing the store that doing so is worth their time may be difficult, since the thief could simply claim that the sets were already missing the minifigs when he or she purchased them. In the unlikely alternative that the theft actually occurred in the store, without the sets being bought and returned, then finding the culprit would be harder, but the case against him or her would be stronger. If you get another set with the minifigs missing, you could try to lift fingerprints, but even that might not hold up in court (chain of evidence?...). So, I suppose the best you could reasonably hope for is that the culprit be restricted from returning sets or get scared away from the store upon being contacted by them, since the store likely would not want to risk the legal issues of telling you who has been doing it. Alternatively, you could assume that the minifigs were taken to be sold, and check Ebay, Bricklink, etc. for any sellers that are from your region, and have listed all of those particular minifigs. Still, there would be no way of confirming who is guilty, short of a confession, and the list of suspects could be long.

Welcome to Eurobricks. Good luck on your LotR stop-motion.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks. You could instead try to get the missus addicted. If all plans fail, you could still use the free LEGO Digital Designer program.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks. You can search for the sets on Peeron or Bricklink.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks. There was set 6543 in 1994, but I suspect you are thinking of the Nautica series from 1991. It may have still been available in 1994, though.

Welcome to Eurobricks. What are your favorite themes?

Welcome to Eurobricks, and condolences concerning your son.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks. What are your favorite themes?

Well, some pieces are still missing from the LDD inventory, but the selection does rival that of LDraw. I find the drag-and-drop feature of LDD to be easier than LDraw, and the method of turning pieces is easier, but it lacks the ability of making certain illegal connections (or overlapping pieces) that LDraw has.

CUUSOO roughly translates as "wish." I have some other pictures, but the one that is best suited to recreating is on Brickshelf. Once you have posted 10 times, I could send you a list of the pieces needed. Total piece count is 1254, of which the 24 2x2 Corner bricks and 56 2x2 Corner plates are the most likely to be an issue.

I buy sets from various themes, but my favorite is probably Creator. I tend to buy sets with a good price per piece (which Creator has), and generally wait until I find it at least 20% off before buying.

Welcome to Eurobricks, and congrats. If you want, you could continue building with LEGO Digital Designer, which takes up much less space, and is not a choking hazard.

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Welcome to Eurobricks. What are some of your favorite themes?

Nice choice of sets. It is almost like buy 2 get one free, with the Town Hall being the free set. I am looking forward to LotR as well.

Welcome to Eurobricks.