FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A Fort Collins family was reunited with their camping trailer nearly six months after it was stolen from the storage facility where it was parked for the winter.
We first introduced you to Kaleena Elfgren and Austin Kissel in November, days after their camper was stolen from JNL Storage.
“I just like broke down crying,” said Elfgren.
Fort Collins
Fort Collins family in search of trailer stolen from storage facility
The couple says the facility's gate was cut, and the locks on their trailer were cut through.
More than a month later, on Christmas Day, the couple got an anonymous tip from Facebook that their trailer was spotted on the other side of Fort Collins.
“On Timberline headed towards Harmony. And we saw the back of it, which had a Harley Davidson sticker,” Elfgren recalled.
The couple reached out to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
“They made contact with the camper. A woman came out, surrendered her. And then we saw smoke flowing out and a gentleman booked into the cattails,” said Elfgren.
Joshua Eldridge, 40, and Erin Huff, 36, were arrested for arson, cruelty to animals and obstructing a peace officer, according to the sheriff's office. Eldridge was also charged with theft, motor vehicle theft and resisting arrest.
Nearly six months after it was stolen, the couple has their trailer back, but they say it's beyond repair.
“Everything is charred. Just fire damage, smoke damage, water damage from the fire department, and just a lot of belongings inside of it were not ours," said Kissell. “We’ll see what we can salvage but I think it’s trash at this point."
The couple said they are supposed to receive $17,000 in restitution — just under half of what they spent to fix up the trailer when they bought it. The trailer was not insured.
“We spent every weekend we had off not going camping and every day after work fixing it,” said Elfgren.
Moving forward, they say they’ll be keeping their trailer parked in their driveway.
