Couple Comes Home to Find House Ransacked; Three Safes Carted Off by Thief

When does a safe not protect the valuables inside?

When it's small enough to be carried off by a thief.

Chad Van Waardhuizen of the 600 block of 13th Street reported to that he and his girlfriend returned home April 21 to find their house ransacked.

The couple was gone from 2:30 to 10:30 p.m.; their front door, which had been locked with a deadbolt, was forced open.

Officer Nathan Ladwig wrote in his report that he saw drawers opened and contents dumped on the floor in all rooms on the main level of the house.

Three safes small enough to be carried by one person were taken from the house, along with the items they contained. Also taken were several pieces of jewelry of unknown value, a 40-caliber Glock pistol valued at $560, a .380-caliber pistol valued at $300, a Colt AR-15 rifle .223 valued at $1,000, cash and coins totaling $4,436.15, and three books of business checks.

The investigation continues.