Is there anything I can do about thieves in A Dark Room?

Question

Some thieves seem to have moved into my village, and are stealing much of what I can gather each turn.

I'm currently assuming that eventually I'll encounter an event that will allow me to deal with them, but it's frustrating.

My question is this:

Is there some specific thing I need to actively do to get rid of them now, or will waiting eventually lead to some option for a resolution?

I'm assuming there's not some place outside the town I need to go address this, since there are none of the normal "nudges" that I ought to go wandering, plus the thieves steal too much for me to accumulate much cured meat.

Answer 1

As the story progresses, you will eventually be given a choice of how to deal with the thief. So keep carting wood (that's the mechanic that progresses the storyline) to get to that point. Spoilers on the choices below.

Eventually your village will catch the thief and give you the choice to either hang him, or let him go. If you hang him, the thievery will stop and you will receive back the stolen goods. If you let him go, he will grant you the Stealthy perk but keep the stolen goods.

Answer 2

If you turn all of the stuff that is being stolen and the thief has nothing left to steal you will get the option to kill or forgive them. PS forgive him and get a reward better that your stolen stuff.

Answer 3

The first time you see him, just let him steal all of your stuff.

After that, go into the wild and attack monsters. Return back from the wilderness, and go back to carting wood and check your traps continuously.

After about 20 minutes have passed, the game will tell you that the thief has been hung, and you will get back everything that he stole.

Answer 4

If u make a lot of huts and people full in the thieves only take 1 of meat fur and wood every tick you get those supplies from your slaves every 10 clicks so if you have 20 slaves hunting and 20 gathering or more than that you get 10 more than they take so your supplies still go up I had 60 slaves so my supplies grew rapidly even though the thieves were taking supplies.