2 arrested days after trailer stolen from Visalia family who fled wildfire

Two people were trying to sell musical equipment registered under his name to a Guitar Center in Oxnard.

Thursday, August 27, 2020
2 arrested days after trailer stolen from Visalia family who fled wildfire
Karl Wenn's trailer full of his family's most cherished belongings was stolen after they escaped the wildfire burning in Santa Cruz County.

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Days after Visalia native Karl Wenn had a trailer full of his family's most cherished belongings stolen after they escaped the wildfire burning in Santa Cruz County, investigators have made a break in the case.

"I received a call from a worker at a Guitar Center," said Wenn.

Two people were trying to sell musical equipment registered under his name to a Guitar Center in Oxnard - equipment he originally bought at one of their locations.

"He was calling just to make sure that it wasn't stolen and I told him it was in fact stolen," he said.

Those items weren't the only belongings stolen from Wenn.

Family photos, irreplaceable home movies and other cherished belongings stored in his trailer were taken from him.

"We don't know how they did it," he said.

The theft happened in Visalia over the weekend.

RELATED: Family forced to move to Visalia after fire has trailer with valuable items stolen

That's where Wenn and his family were staying after being evacuated from the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in Northern California.

A Bakersfield man and an Oxnard woman have been arrested trying to sell his items.

"The guy claims that he purchased the equipment from another person in Bakersfield," he said.

But the trailer is still missing and with it his most prized possessions.

"The fact that I am not getting my kids' stuff back is all that really matters to me. I don't even care about the trailer," he said.

It's the sentimental value behind the stolen items that makes them so precious.

He's not sure if he'll ever see them again.

"I'm not naive, in all reality I think they already dumped that stuff, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed," said Wenn.

Authorities are still asking for people to keep a look out for the black trailer.

Wenn said it has a TrailerPlus.com sticker on the right backside.

It also has a license plate that reads 4RR1088.

He thinks it could be in the Bakersfield area.

At the moment, police are working to gather more evidence from the suspects.