Jan 15, 2009 5:51 pm US/Central
Stolen Ice House Made By Father, Son Found
(WCCO)
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Tyler Vandal and his dad bought the navy-colored shell and spent about $12,000 customizing the inside of it. They put in basswood and black walnut, along with bunks to sleep three people and a heater for the space.
CBS
An ice house that was stolen off Medicine Lake has been recovered and now police are hoping to solve the mystery of who took it.
Tyler Vandal never thought he'd see the custom-made ice house that he and his father spent hours building again.
"Yea, it was a boost," Tyler said, as he reacted to the news his ice house was found in New Brighton, Minn. "It kind of restored my faith in people. We're really excited to keep fishing!"
He got the call Wednesday night that someone spotted it. The person had seen a news report on WCCO-TV and an ad on the popular Web site, Craigslist, about the missing ice house.
Tyler and his father, Mike, had customized the inside of the house with basswood and black walnut. They spent three months and $12,000 on the project.
When Tyler went fishing with his buddies Tuesday on Medicine Lake, the house was gone.
Someone spotted the house sitting on 13th Street Northwest in New Brighton, a residential area, on Wednesday night.
"There was a little damage on the outside. It looked minor. I'm pretty happy about that. They tried to force entry into a couple of the doors. The trailer lights were cut," said Tyler.
He and a detective with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department hauled it away.
The house had been sitting in sub-zero temperatures for a couple days, so investigators put it in a warehouse in Brooklyn Park. Once it warms up, they can look for fingerprints on it. They'll also look for fingerprints on a lock the thieves broke in order to steal it.
"I wasn't ready for it to be gone so quickly," said Tyler, recalling the day he couldn't find it on the ice in Plymouth.
Now he and his father will get to spend more time together, just like they have for years on hunting and fishing trips. This winter the new times will add to the old ones.
"Yea, it's going to be a good weekend," Tyler said. "it wasn't shaping up that way but now I'm pretty stoked."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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