Click here for updates on this story
YUBA CITY, Calif. (KCRA) — A dog who was taken when a Vietnam veteran’s van was stolen in Yuba City was found two days after the theft, police said.
Reo was found walking down High Street Tuesday in Marysville and was picked up by Sutter County Animal Control.
However, Rex Shafer’s van – which had everything he owned – was found burned and abandoned Monday near Avondale Avenue and North Beale Road in a Linda orchard.
“Devastating,” he said. “It’s like pulling into your driveway and your house is gone.”
Shafer said he was driving through Yuba City on Sunday on his way to Arizona from Wisconsin.
“I packed up my stuff,” he said. “I was moving to a warmer climate for health reasons.”
Shafer stopped at the Walmart in Yuba City to get some food. He couldn’t believe what happened about 30 minutes later.
Shafer’s van and his beloved travel companion Reo were gone.
“I lost everything at the Walmart parking lot there,” he said. “I’m a diabetic and I’m on numerous meds. I had no medication or nothing — didn’t know anybody out there in Yuba City.”
Shafer admits the van door was unlocked and the keys were on the floor. His sister, Ronda Rosenthal, said there’s a good reason.
“It was hard to lock the van because he got in his side door and then lifted his wheelchair up and down with his arms,” she explained.
But, the siblings said they never would have imagined someone would have taken his van during the day.
“I went in with the shirt on my back and a wheelchair and I come out — that’s all I had left, just the shirt on my back, a gallon of milk and a wheelchair,” Shafer said.
A day later there was a break in the case. California Highway Patrol officers were called to Linda and found Shafer’s van, which was set on fire.
“It’s sad. It’s just very sad,” Rosenthal said.
Shafer said an officer took him to a motel. He called his sister, got a ride to the airport and flew to Minnesota – to Rosenthal’s home. Now, Rosenthal is trying to do all she can to help him get back on his feet.
“I was pretty distraught and upset,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it happened or that people would do that to a disabled veteran.”
Sutter Animal Control has Reo now. Yuba City police are working to make arrangements to have Reo flown to Minnesota, where Shafer is staying with his sister.
Officials are looking for the people responsible for the theft.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
