CUSTOM FISH HOUSE STOLEN ON MEDICINE LAKE

[crothmeier]

this is awful. I hope they catch the people that did this

From wcco.com

MEDICINE LAKE, Minn.

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.

A labor of love for a father and son is now gone after the pair the tried to go fishing and found the ice house they built -- stolen.

Tyler Vandal and his father, Mike, were ready to go ice fishing this week. They had all their gear and they had a very special ice house to go to.

But they ran into one big problem -- someone else thought their ice house was cool and stole it right off the ice.

Now all Tyler and Mike, have left is a pile of scraps.

"You can see the chunks here. They sliced it off there," Tyler said, as he showed what's left of the lock.

The lock was on the hitch to his ice house that was stolen off Medicine Lake in Plymouth. He first realized the custom-made ice house was gone, when he came out with his buddies to fish on Tuesday afternoon.

"It's beyond me. I can't believe why someone would do something like that," said Tyler.

It wasn't just any ice house. Tyler 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.

"It was a good project for him and I to get into, and we put a lot of work into it," said Mike. "And it took a while. I probably had about a dozen hours in the wood-burning I did on this side."

Inside the house, there were drawings of fish and other things burned into the wood. All the work took three months.

"It was an experience and a lot of fun," said Tyler.

It was a chance for his father and him to spend some time together, just like they did when Tyler was younger. Now they won't be able to make more memories in their ice house this winter.

"As far as us go, on a personal level, I never felt so disappointed in people," said Mike.

"I'd love for it to be found, cause you can't replace the time, effort and energy we put into it," said Tyler.

Anyone with information on the ice house is asked to call the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department at 1-888-988-TIPS.

[kevfish1]

Would be nice to have a little more info on what the outside of the house looks like. With all the people on this site someone is bound to spot it.

[crothmeier]

I think they had pics of it on the news, they didnt show up on the website when i pulled it up, only the story

[dirtking]

If it was worth $ 12,000 and they were leaving it on the ice over night I am assuming they had insurance for it. With that being said I hope they catch the rat that took it.

[JeffB]

I agree anyone who knows them it would be great if they could post pics inside and out. People like that need to be caught.

[waterwolff]

It seems we are becoming a society of instant gratification with little or no regard to the labor of others. A picture posted of the completed house would be great so that we can all be on the look out state wide. I hope it turns up.

Mike

[kevfish1]

I agree- lets get some pics on here and then go find this house for them. If everyone goes and checks a few lakes in their area we should be able to check most every lake in the state. Also look around town as it may be setting by a garage or something. If you see a house that looks similar call your local police and they can check it out.

[Shack]

This is the same house that was on here the other day and it had pics with it!

Personally, I have little remorse for anglers that have stuff stolen on the ice. I own a perm and clear it out when ever leaving it for the week. This thing was portable and should have been removed (IMO), or at least if I own a shack like this it would be coming home with me.

Rule number one, do not leave anything on the ice that you will miss and rule number two is leave you perm doors unlocked. Anything less than that, you are asking for trouble and I am sorry, it is your fault

I still hopes he get's it back.

[MuskieJunkie]

You can see extior and interior pictures of it on craigs list. Search "stolen".

I just checked and the ad on there lists it as found.

So what's the story??

[blarkey]

It sucks people can't keep there slimy hands to them self!

[fatcat]

info

STOLEN ICE CASTLE FISH HOUSE ! ! ! **FOUND** (Medicine lake)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2009-01-13, 5:48PM CST

Found it. thank you so much to "dale." we are picking it up tonight and the police will look over it and figure this whole thing out. thanks again to everyone that has given their thoughts and helpfull ideas. (i will delete this after a couple days, i want some helpfull people to be able to see it and tomake sure we get it back for sure) My best friend's brand new ice castle fish house was stolen at some point in the last couple days. it is a blue, v-nose, ice castle house with silver diamond plate all the way around. it is 6.5'X14' plus the nose. one window on each side and a double-door on the back to drive an ATV in. the inside is totally custom basswood pannels with custom woodburned imaged throughout. the v nose has its own door and has a bunch of perch and a walleye woodburned into the wall.

this house was just put on the lake barely over a week ago. it had a tongue lock on it, but the theives somehow broke it and took the house. the house was sitting on the ice, so the pins that hold the house in the trailering position were not with the house, so they theive (if they are selling it) may be selling it missing these pins.

the value of this house is approx. 12,000-13,000, but you cannot purchase a manufactured house this nice.

if you see anyone useing or trying to sell a fish hosue that matches this description, please notify the police. the sherriff was called to the scene and is aware of the incident and welcomes any tips. also you can reply to this email with any info that may help.

thank you so much.

us outdoorsmen need to stick together and watch out for one another.

steve

as said above....it is the blue house, not the grey one.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thats good news if true!

[tv4fish]

Personally, I have little remorse for anglers that have stuff stolen on the ice. I own a perm and clear it out when ever leaving it for the week. This thing was portable and should have been removed (IMO), or at least if I own a shack like this it would be coming home with me.

Rule number one, do not leave anything on the ice that you will miss and rule number two is leave you perm doors unlocked. Anything less than that, you are asking for trouble and I am sorry, it is your fault

WOW shackbush -- You havin' a bad day or what ??

I DISAGREE with you 100% -- that's like saying you should take your car with you wherever you go so nobody can steal it when you have it parked on a public street or in a parking lot!! It was STOLEN ---- Theft is theft.

[Sifty]

Great to hear it was found.

Sifty

[mnhunter 3815]

i have a perm shack on lotw.i take everything out when i leave.but then again ppl know better to leave stuff alone up there.i also have a 16ft camper i turned into a fish house.i locked it up so ppl can not just hook up to it.i would suggest not to lock your fish houses like fort knox.if ppl want to get into it they will and cause more damage that way.on my perm shack i just lock the dead bolt.if they want to get in that bad so be it.nothin in there to take anyways.

[Moe Szyslak]

Originally Posted By: shackbash

Personally, I have little remorse for anglers that have stuff stolen on the ice. I own a perm and clear it out when ever leaving it for the week. This thing was portable and should have been removed (IMO), or at least if I own a shack like this it would be coming home with me.

Rule number one, do not leave anything on the ice that you will miss and rule number two is leave you perm doors unlocked. Anything less than that, you are asking for trouble and I am sorry, it is your fault

WOW shackbush -- You havin' a bad day or what ??

I DISAGREE with you 100% -- that's like saying you should take your car with you wherever you go so nobody can steal it when you have it parked on a public street or in a parking lot!! It was STOLEN ---- Theft is theft.

I agree with Shack. Everyone knows there are and will always be people looking to steal and make a buck any way possible. It is everyones responsibility to take precautions to prevent theft.

People can and will steal cars from anywhere. Horrible analogy.

[David Kasten]

There was another house stolen off waconia too from what i hear. that is sick. people need to respect others property. if you do leave a house on the lake its not a bad idea to meet some of the "neighbors" keeping an eye on there house just like they would yours.

[kevfish1]

I am sure if you look at your reply and think about it for a while you really did not mean what you said? There are wheel houses left over nite on almost all lakes and none of those people deserve to have anything stolen

[gonefishing70]

[Shack]

I am sorry, but they call them wheel houses for a reason

Again, IMO I would never leave a rig out like this. I would be asking for a loss if I did. I would not be able to sleep at night.

When it comes to a car/truck, there are places in the state I would not park a car/truck .

When I launch my boat on the lake or river, I do not leave my boat at launch over night if I am going to be their the next afternoon. I load it up and take it home. If someone did that, I know what you guys would say on here

I just think people are leaving to much stuff out on the ice and figure a little harsh reality is in order

You guys will scratch the eyes out of a fellow angler who goes threw the ice with a truck, but someone who leaves a $15,000 wheelhouse on a metro area lake and gets it stolen

We pay good money for this stuff and why give a crook an easy target.

[jumboperch]

The simple fact is that you shouldn't have to worry about someone stealing your personal property.

[bloc004]

You SHOULDN'T need to worry about people stealing, but the sad reality is you DO need to worry!

[Christopher Quast]

Shack, I could see your point if the guy completely left the thing for the taking by not having his hitch locked up. But common I thought we were all suppose to be on the same boat here, well I guess not though.

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, and by not being supportive of something of this nature to me shows very bad sportsmanship on your part and I think others would agree with me, so much for the positive thing on here

One time back in the day I used to own a skid house and I had my buddies pull it off the lake for me, since I was driving truck OTR and the weather got really warm up here fast and was suppose to get cold again before I got back and didn't want my house to freeze in, so I show to the landing on Hydes lake Saturday morning with my trailer to pic it up and there layed my fish house in a thousand pieces, because some a-hole ran it over with there truck.

I suppose that was my fault too Right????

Either way to me your post was very negative and uncalled for.

[jumboperch]

I know you do need to worry, but someone saying "well you got what you deserved" isn't right.

[jumboperch]

I agree with you CQ.

[Big Buck Buster]

I am sorry, but they call them wheel houses for a reason

Again, IMO I would never leave a rig out like this. I would be asking for a loss if I did. I would not be able to sleep at night.

When it comes to a car/truck, there are places in the state I would not park a car/truck .

When I launch my boat on the lake or river, I do not leave my boat at launch over night if I am going to be their the next afternoon. I load it up and take it home. If someone did that, I know what you guys would say on here

I just think people are leaving to much stuff out on the ice and figure a little harsh reality is in order

You guys will scratch the eyes out of a fellow angler who goes threw the ice with a truck, but someone who leaves a $15,000 wheelhouse on a metro area lake and gets it stolen

We pay good money for this stuff and why give a crook an easy target.

Get real shackbash!!! These people didn't ask for, or deserve this in any way, shape or form. They did try to prevent it by putting a tongue lock on it, and not leaving the pins for the wheels. The only other thing that they could have done to prevent it was to actually remove the wheels from it, and remove the tongue(if removable).

My employer had two Ice Castle fish houses stolen right off his lot. He tried to prevent it by taking one tire off and removing the pin for the hitch, and putting in a tongue lock. This didn't stop them. They brought a spare tire,pin, and cut off the lock. Drove off the lot with it.

Now I suppose you'll find some way to blame the theft on my employer in this case too.

What you are basically saying is that you are siding with the criminals that stole the house, by saying it was the owners fault it got stolen. You should be ashamed of yourself for the comments that you made to these people.

How would you feel if someone ripped off you new Team Wild 3 that you just got??

[jwmiller33]

You SHOULDN'T need to worry about people stealing, but the sad reality is you DO need to worry!

well said

[Shack]

I guess owning a shack on ML for many years and hearing about all the stuff people are loosing the month, I figured I would speak my mind. Sorry if it offended anyone. I did not call names, say anything bad about the guy, just when you leave a $15000 dollar piece of equipment on the ice, there is a huge chance it will be stolen.

It is a reality in today’s world. Point blank. After years and years of being told not to leave stuff of value on the ice by the cops, sheriff, CO's, news radio and internet, you figure it would sink in.

I also said I feel "little remorse", that does not mean I do not feel any.

The simple fact is that you shouldn't have to worry about someone stealing your personal property.

You are right JP, that is why I go to great lengths to secure my stuff. Cuts down on the worry factor

After the other weeks reports, you figure it would sink in.

Quote:

Don't leave the flat screen in the fish house

After a rash of break-ins on Lake Minnetonka, police are warning anglers not to leave valuables on the ice.

By LORA PABST, Star Tribune

Last update: January 8, 2009 - 8:15 AM

Fish house thieves are easy to catch. Just take your game camera, wrap white duct tape around it, place it in the snow a few feet away with … read more a float chain embedded in a hole in the ice, everything under the snow except the camere eye and the motion sensor. Set it up to record anyone approaching the door. I did this and picked it up every two or three days for about two weeks and caught video of 4 different guys trying the doors and looking in the windows. One pried to door open. I even picked up their truck and snowmobile license numbers and gave them to the sheriff. They're all in jail. Game cameras are the best security systems ever invented.

If you're lucky enough to have a flat-screen television in your fish house, you might want to keep a closer eye on it.

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is warning the public after a rash of break-ins to fish houses on Lake Minnetonka early Wednesday. Thieves broke into approximately 11 fish houses and got away with a flat-screen television, a stereo, electronics and fishing equipment. The thefts and property damage are estimated at about $7,000, the sheriff's office said.

"It's a crime of opportunity, like people who leave their garage door open," said sheriff's office spokeswoman Lisa Kiava. "It's kind of sad that in this day, you can't set up your fish house and leave it out there."

The fish houses varied in size and furnishings -- some had beds and one had a visible satellite dish, Kiava said. The thieves pried doors off of the fish houses or broke windows to gain access.

The area targeted was about 100 yards from shore in Lower Lake North, just south of Big Island, the sheriff's office said.

The only other fish house break-in in Hennepin County this season was on Medicine Lake earlier this week, Kiava said.

In Sherburne County, authorities are investigating thefts of hundreds of dollars worth of gear from five fish houses in the Clear Lake area in one day. Items worth thousands of dollars were also taken from four fish houses in Palmer Township in late December.

Fish house owners are warned to remove valuables, supplies and fishing equipment when they leave. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office also recommends that owners leave fish houses unlocked to prevent damage to the doors if someone tries to get in. Take the same precautions you would take if you were leaving a boat on a dock, authorities said.

"If you leave something in a fish house, it probably will be taken," Kiava said.

The number of fish houses on area lakes this year have increased, as well as the number of snowmobilers, Kiava said.

In all reality, wheel houses are not safe alone for long periods of time on the ice in the metro (IMO). But like the article said, if I choose to leave my garage door open at night, I am the one to blame if stuff gets stolen. I have no other choice but to blame my self and I would.

I will do my part in helping find stolen ice fishing stuff. I would be the first one to call in any suspicious activity on the ice or if I seen something that was stole.

[Shack]

Quote:

Get real shackbash!!! These people didn't ask for, or deserve this in any way, shape or form. They did try to prevent it by putting a tongue lock on it, and not leaving the pins for the wheels. The only other thing that they could have done to prevent it was to actually remove the wheels from it, and remove the tongue(if removable).

My employer had two Ice Castle fish houses stolen right off his lot. He tried to prevent it by taking one tire off and removing the pin for the hitch, and putting in a tongue lock. This didn't stop them. They brought a spare tire,pin, and cut off the lock. Drove off the lot with it.

Now I suppose you'll find some way to blame the theft on my employer in this case too.

What you are basically saying is that you are siding with the criminals that stole the house, by saying it was the owners fault it got stolen. You should be ashamed of yourself for the comments that you made to these people.

How would you feel if someone ripped off you new Team Wild 3 that you just got??

WOW, slow down their slugger

I think you are taking this a little too far.

If anyone has read my post's, they know I will help out anyone. Again, I am sorry if this offened some poeple. Nothing personal.

[ole]

Sad to say, but in todays society nothing is safe from theft!!!

I would agree with Shack that if you leave something nice on the lake somebody will steal it. Yes, it can happen anywhere to any one but the lake at night is usually dark and quiet (rather inviting)to the thieves. The only way to deter these people is to sit in the thing 24/7 and that aint going to happen. Me, I'd take the thing off the ice with me when I left, I know that won't stop the thieves since they could steal it out of my yard, but I also know I have a better chance of catching them in progress. I know these guys took extra steps to keep this sort of thing from happening, but the reality is that it did.

These guys put in a lot of time and money into this house, sad to see this happen.

What can we do to prevent it? Maybe instead of bashing people we could actually try to find a remedy?

Anyone with any good ideas?