‘More than a vehicle’: Firefighter searching for stolen truck, handed down by late father
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct model of the truck.
DENVER (KDVR) — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help finding a truck that was stolen from a local firefighter. The truck, however, is more than just a mode of transportation.
Colton Smith got his passion for firefighting from his dad, Steve.
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“Instilled into me from seeing him go out of his way to help others,” said Smith, a firefighter with West Douglas County Fire Protection District.
He practically grew up in the halls of the fire station, watching his dad respond to hundreds of calls in his Ford F-350 truck. But those calls stopped two years ago when Steve died suddenly of a heart attack.
“Just from right there to gone,” Smith said.
Just like his dad’s love for helping others, the truck was handed down to Smith.
“I also took pride responding to calls in it just like dad did,” he said.
On June 20, he drove the truck to the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch to catch a movie around 5 p.m. When he came back outside, Smith couldn’t find the truck.
“I’m trying to desperately click on the key fob, hoping that I parked somewhere and forgot about it, and then went, no, my truck’s gone,” Smith recalled.
Emotions quickly flooded through his mind.
“I’m so mad and I’m also really, really sad,” Smith said.
A memory of his father, stolen away from him.
“It’s not just a place to go A to B in. It was a place where I enjoyed myself the most,” Smith said.
As the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office now searches for whoever took the truck, Smith said he’s willing to forgive and forget as long as the truck is returned to him.
“It’s money to you, but it’s a whole lot more to me,” he said.
He hopes to get back to doing what his father taught him best.
“Helping other people with the truck that dad always prided himself on using that for,” Smith said.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office describes the truck as a black 2006 Ford F-150 with a Colorado firefighter’s license plate OJO-901.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
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