SPOKANE, Wash. — A well-known couple in the LEGO community are asking for help after their car was stolen in Spokane with thousands of dollars worth of LEGO art inside.
Paul Hetherington and Melissa Rekve returned to Spokane on Monday, an eight-hour drive from their home in Vancouver, Canada, to pick up the car at Rivercity Recovery and Towing.
Not the place anyone hopes to end a road trip.
"Let’s go take a look," Hetherington said, walking to their Hyundai.
The couple is here to pick up the pieces and hopefully get clues into pieces that are still missing -- pieces that are foundational to Paul's life as a freelance LEGO artist.
“AFOL. Adult Fan of LEGO," he said.
The car was taken June 30 as the couple stayed at the Ramada near downtown Spokane, wrapping up a nationwide tour of LEGO conventions.
Inside the car were a month supply of their clothing and some personal items, along with some of Paul's masterpieces.
“So the art inside the car is really irreplaceable," he said. "A lot of these creations have been shown at multiple LEGO conventions.”
Missing LEGO art pieces
Rekve says the police called Sunday to say the car had been located on Lincoln and Morton.
“But, of course, the car was empty," Hetherington said.
Empty of most of the couples' belongings, though several remnants of someone else's life were left behind.
“That’s a crack pipe!” Rekve exclaimed as the couple opened the car for the first time.
Inside were also a car battery, an empty suitcase, and piles of clothing that didn't belong to Paul or Melissa. Also still there were other treasures, including a metal stick figure Melissa's son made for her.
“I can’t believe it," she gasped. "This is a miracle. We never thought we’d see it again. I wish I had my car but I’ll take this over my car any day.”
Though they're still hoping for another miracle; the return of the missing LEGO art pieces.
“We figure between $12,000 to $15,000 just in the LEGO cost alone," Hetherington said. "That doesn’t count the four-five months we spent building these one-of-a-kind creations.”
“Yeah, I don’t plan to stop until I recover it," Rekve said. "I’m hoping the people who stole our car and all our stuff see this and drop it off at a police station or drop it off somewhere.”
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.