UPDATE | Wednesday — Police in Northglenn said they found that the reported theft of multiple beehives from a property along E. 120th Avenue was a misunderstanding. Read more here.
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NORTHGLENN, Colo. — A family in Northglenn is asking who would steal 30 beehives from their property? The owner says the beehives were worth about $15,000, but she is more worried about the emotional cost.
For more than three generations, Shannon Sublette's family has lived on a 70-acre property in Northglenn.
"My grandparents had bought this property in 1947. They were here before the city of Northglenn or Thornton was established," Sublette said.
After having a dairy farm for decades, Sublette's family decided to shut down operations and are now trying to sell their land.
"It was just time for the family to move on; we couldn't keep up any longer with the big box stores," she said.
So with fewer people on the property, they decided to let Zoya Cherny and her friend Boris set up their beehives. Cherny says it was mainly to help Boris.
"He was very sick and depressed, and because he knew how to take care of bees from his childhood, I was helping him to get back to life," Cherny said.
Until last week, when Cherny says Boris called her and said their 30 beehives were gone.
"When he came here on Saturday, he just found that it's an empty field, and it was nothing here. They were taking not just beehives but even buckets for water," Cherny said.
The Northglenn Police Department said the beehives were stolen sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 from the property, which is along E. 120th Avenue.
Cherny says Boris hasn't been doing well since the bees were stolen.
She's hoping the thieves will return the hives, knowing full well if they don't know how to care for a colony, or were just after the honey. The bees are likely dead already.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Northglenn police.