Thieves steal camper off South Austin driveway
Thieves break into camper off tree-lined road in South Austin in broad daylight
A South Austin man is trying to find a campground he was rebuilding to keep his late grandfather’s memory alive.
AUSTIN, Texas – A south Austin man is looking for his stolen champion in broad daylight the day after Christmas.
He was able to get surveillance video from his neighbors after thieves stole his trailer from his driveway in the McKinney Falls neighborhood.
“I was at work and I got home from work around seven or so, which is pretty typical. And right when I pulled up, I saw that my RV was gone,” says Derek Bryant, owner of the stolen camper.
According to a post on Reddit, the camper was stolen around 2:30 p.m. on December 26. When neighbors noticed the camper was no longer parked in the driveway, they immediately called Derek Bryant asking if he knew it was gone.
“They immediately stopped what they were doing while they were out, you know, still hanging out with family right after Christmas and helped get the footage and send it to me,” Bryant says.
The Reddit post shows video of the man approaching the camper and hooking it up to his truck. Although you can’t see a clear image of the driver or the license plate, Bryant believes the truck that was used to steal his camper is a pickup truck with a green cab.
Bryant says he normally feels safe leaving his projects in the driveway, but after his camper was stolen the day after Christmas, he’s having second thoughts.
“I’m getting ready to push all these motorcycles into the garage and double-deck my boat,” Bryant says.
Derek has been working on this project for about a year. He says he invested nearly $10,000 in parts alone.
“I’ve spent hours and hours of work on it myself. I reweld parts of the frame and modified the floor and tear things up and fix body scratches. And I mean, 50% of that chassis was welded by me myself,” says Bryant.
Derek has a passion for restoring seventies boats and bikes, he says it keeps the memory of his late grandfather alive.
“And when my grandfather passed away, I never got to show him a remodel. I was working on it. He would have thought it was pretty cool if he’d seen it finished,” Bryant says.
That’s why he was so eager to finish the camper that he wanted to make sure one of his grandparents saw a finished project. Derek wanted to include his grandmother in the remodel, but with her name written on the back.
“It came in like a maroon, red stripe around it with the words Mary Ann printed on the back. It’s my grandmother’s name. You know, there’s no rear bumper. It’s got two pipes coming out of the back.” says Bryant.
Derek has filed a police report on the stolen camper and hopes someone will help him recover it. He is asking the public if they have any information about the driver or have clear photos of the license plates to send them to Austin police. Anyone who believes they know the camper’s whereabouts is asked to email him at [email protected]
