Caught on camera: Thieves steal camper off South Austin driveway
AUSTIN, Texas - A South Austin man is looking for his camper stolen in broad daylight the day after Christmas.
He was able to get surveillance video from his neighbors after thieves stole his trailer off his driveway in the McKinney Falls neighborhood.
"I was at work and got home from work about seven or so, which is pretty typical. And immediately when I pulled up, I saw that my RV was gone," says Derek Bryant, owner of the stolen camper.
According to a Reddit post, 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 him if he knew it was no longer there.
"They immediately stopped what they were doing while they were out, you know, still hanging out with family right after Christmas and helped pull footage and send it to me," says Bryant.
The Reddit post shows video of the man approaching the camper and attaching it 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 green single cab pickup truck.
(Derek Bryant)
Bryant says he normally feels confident about leaving his projects out in the driveway but after getting his camper stolen a day after Christmas, he's having second thoughts.
"I'm getting ready to push all these motorcycles into the garage and double lock my boat," says Bryant.
Derek has been working on this project for about a year now. He says he invested nearly $10K just in parts.
"I have poured hours and hours of working to it myself. Rewelding portions of the frame and modifying the floor and tearing stuff out and fixing up body dents. And I mean, 50% of that chassis is welded by me personally," says Bryant.
Derek has a passion for restoring boats and bikes from the seventies, he says it keeps his late grandfather's memory alive.
"And when my grandfather passed, I never got to show him a remodel. I was working on that. He would have thought it was really cool if he had seen it finished," says Bryant.
(Derek Bryant)
That's why he was so eager to finish the camper, he wanted to make sure one of his grandparents saw a finish project. Derek wanted to include his grandmother in the remodel but having her name written on the back.
"It's got in like a maroon, red stripe all the way around it with the words Mary Ann printed on the back. It's my grandmother's name. It's, you know, has no rear bumpers. It's got two pipes coming out the back," says Bryant.
Derek has filed a police report on the stolen camper and hopes someone can help him recover it. He is asking the public if they have any information on the driver or have clear pictures of the license plates, send them to Austin police. Anyone who believes to know where the camper is at is asked to email him at derektbryant@gmail.com.