Truck and trailer with two prize pigs inside stolen in Denver
Jan. 16—The case of the missing hogs, stolen before they could even get to the National Western Stock Show, has had over two thousand shares on Facebook and a network of internet sleuths mobilized — posting alerts from Oklahoma to Texas.
It's unclear if the thieves knew what they were towing when they made off with Doug and Roger, a couple of 280 lb. prize hogs, who were being housed in the owners' livestock trailer, which was attached to a shiny white and tan Ford F-350 truck.
The entire caravan disappeared in the dark of night, either late Saturday or early Sunday, from the parking lot of a Comfort Inn on Tower Road hotel near Denver International Airport.
"People tell us that is a bad area," said Tania Lee. "In years past we have stayed in that area and never had a problem. How would we know that?"
The Lee family hauled their beloved swine down a ribbon of highways from Washington state to the outskirts of Denver in hopes of selling them at the National Western Stock Show.
One of the hogs is white with black spots and the other is brown.
"We are in a waiting game at the moment. I would hope that someone would dump the trailer and give us our pigs," said Lee, who has been crying for days. "These people not only took our truck and our possessions, they took a piece of our hearts."
The family had to borrow a cousin's extra car for transportation, but her biggest concern is the hogs, who were raised with the utmost care from piglets by her three sons; Blaine, Chance and Miles.
For Lee the worries are piling up with the hours.
The trailer contains a bucket or two of food but the swine have certain needs only a hog farmer can understand.
The Lee family parked their Ford 350 and hog-pulling trailer with the two animals inside on Saturday. That night, after a short trip for ice cream, they returned around 8 pm and moved the truck and trailer from a dark side of the building to a place under lights in front of the hotel.
That was the last time they saw their animals.
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The next morning, Lee's sons called her in a panic. They had gone down for the morning feeding but the truck and trailer were gone.
"I thought, them being boys, that they were playing a joke on me. But pretty soon, I saw it was for real," she said.
No one heard a squeal or saw head nor tail, but Denver Police are working with the hotel to gather surveillance footage.
"Ford trucks are one of the most frequently stolen vehicles," police Spokesman Doug Schepman said. Officers filed an incident report on the missing property and live animals and a detective has been assigned to the case.
Besides auto theft, according to FindLaw.com, anyone who steals and transports cattle, horses, goats, mules, swine or donkeys could be charged with a class 4 felony under Colorado law.
"The police told me that they were probably after the generator we kept in the trailer," Lee said.
Conspiracy theories swirling on the family's missing pig Facebook page include comments about possible agri-terrorism and warnings of Denver's huge auto theft problem. One poster said she also had her Ford 350 stolen from the National Western two years ago. In another post, a man noticed that on the same day Doug and Roger went missing, a woman on a separate page was looking for someone to slaughter two pigs, but as the investigation unfolded, the suspicious post turned out to be a coincidence.
Monday, the Lee's planned to move Doug and Roger from the hotel to a National Western Stock Show holding pen. Tuesday and Wednesday, they were prepared to show them.
In a statement, President and CEO Paul Andrews said event officials are upset by the news, but since the crime happened off Stock Show property, they could only alert police and will "help in any way that they can." Andrews said the National Western Center Complex grounds have 24 hour security and police to protect peoples' valuables "as we try to fight crime in Denver."
The Colorado State Patrol said they take auto theft seriously, but that it hasn't had a report on the license plates of the truck or trailer as of Monday.
The white and tan Ford F-350 truck has "JAMNJON 2000" on Washington state license plate. The trailer plates are 0239US.
Look for two possibly bewildered pigs inside.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 720-913-2000, or call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
